


Whatever It Takes

by stressed_irondad



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorable Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brunnhilde | Valkyrie Needs a Hug (Marvel), Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual happy ending...I swear, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Group Therapy Avengers style, May Parker is so done, Multiple Perspectives, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Peter/MJ if you squint real hard, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have words, The Real Hero...but who is it?, The one where Avengers Endgame goes differently, Thor Needs a Hug (Marvel), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is peak dad energy, although she'll probably punch you if you try, and a salad, but they hug it out, especially talking ones, eventual irondad, hold in there your faves are on the way!, just assume that they will become relevant at some point in the unforeseeable future, literally none of these tags are in order, someone call her an uber, stressed irondad has arrived, who tf is Sigrid? read to find out, why so many trees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 125,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28872102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stressed_irondad/pseuds/stressed_irondad
Summary: When his parents died, Tony had been left feeling truly and thoroughly alone. Never did he think that he'd find them again, in Pepper, Rhodey, Peter... and Steve Rogers of all people.Cradling the image of his new family in his mind’s eye, their smiling faces filling his heart to the brim, Tony resolutely raised his right hand and brought his thumb and middle finger together. He knew what he had to do, and in that moment, he knew he had the strength to do it.Whatever it takes.And with that final thought, Tony Stark closed his eyes, and snapped.--Thanos triumphed, Tony snapped, and life went on... or did it? Taking the events of Avengers: Endgame and adding a twist, anything can happen. Lots of angst, cuteness, and a different ending for our favourite heroes.
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie & Peter Parker, Brunnhilde | Valkyrie & Thor (Marvel), Harley Keener & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, Morgan Stark & Harley Keener, Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Harley Keener, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & James "Bucky" Barnes, Valkyrie/ Sigrid
Comments: 33
Kudos: 60





	1. Steve's Section - Last Chance

**Author's Note:**

> So this story will be broken into 6 parts: Steve, Thor, Tony, Peter, Bucky, and Valkyrie. Each section will be from that person's perspective. 
> 
> This first part is from Steve's perspective and revolves around his relationships with both Peggy and Tony and the constant existential battle of being a man out of time.
> 
> This story is an AU, but differs in many ways. Head-canon is a big part of the story, but canonical elements are still involved. Steve's first chapter starts very much the same as the movie, but it will differ and get better as the story goes on. I hope you enjoy! :)

The rusty steps groaned beneath Steve’s feet as he climbed down the fire escape which was hugging the side of a small apartment building, Loki’s scepter safely secured in his left hand and his shield in his right. Finally close enough to the ground that he was able to jump, he swung himself over the railing and bent his knees to absorb the impact with the concrete below. 

Taking in the abandoned alley around him as he gave himself a moment to breathe, the distant glare of sunlight off the still patented Stark Tower caught his eye one last time.

It was surreal to even think that he was here, back in 2012, where the world had been so different from the one he knew now. Firstly, he had just gotten into a fight with _himself,_ a sight he never anticipated seeing in his lifetime, or any lifetime if he was being honest. 

Then, as he had been escaping with the newly acquired scepter, stolen right under Hydra’s noses with a simple ‘hail Hydra’ from his mouth leaving them all stunned, he had almost made it to the staircase leading outside when he had bumped into his 2012 self. Back then he was a lot more of a straight arrow, never going outside the realm of what he had deemed right and wrong, something that made confrontation inevitable. Upon seeing another version of his body, the younger version had immediately clocked him as Loki trying to escape, time travel not even a thought, and engaged with him trying to get it back. It was definitely the weirdest fight he'd had, that fact probably building into the reason why he decided “that is America’s ass” was the thing he was going to comment on about his unconscious form instead of simply grabbing the scepter and walking away.

Springing up, he glanced to his right looking for Tony and Scott, who he was supposed to meet after retrieving his part of the mission, when a call for him got his attention.

“Cap!” 

Snapping his head to the left, he was momentarily confused as he took in the speaker and the rest of the scene in front of him. Instead of standing in the alley waiting for his return, Tony had hailed him from the back of a small blue car just off to the side of the wide alley, both the car and the backstreet covered in debris from their 2012 battle of New York, where he and Scott were slumped and sporting dejected looks. 

He noted that even though the alley was destroyed, courtesy of their alien fight, it was still such a different world from the one at home. This world had only seen the beginning of the aliens, what they now understood was Thanos’ first wave, but back home the streets were deserted, more trash flooding the New York gutters than ever before and every alley in a wash of filth and regret. The city had an overall more dejected look too, an abandoned one, as half of the population had been wiped away, leaving the rest to fall apart in its wake. It hurt Steve to look around and see a prospering Earth, one that was still full of life and innocent enough to believe that this was the worst it was ever going to get, knowing that he’d have to return to the reality which was their half empty one as soon as they finished their mission. 

It was this thought though that made Steve remember that this is why they were here. It was easy to get lost in the dark of it all, but he needed to keep his sights on the light at the edge of the horizon. They were going to get everyone back again, make their world whole once more, and that was why he was here and why he needed to go back.

Walking closer to figure out what was going on, Tony began to apologize before Steve could even open his mouth.

“Sorry, buddy, we got a problem.” 

Steve’s heart seemed to freeze all over again at those words: It meant something had gone wrong on their end and he knew what that could cost them. If they didn’t bring all six stones back there was no snapping everyone back to life. 

Scott didn’t seem too impressed with the apology, annoyance immediately flaring as Tony spoke.

“Yeah, we do,” he scoffed, glaring at the back of Tony’s head from where he was sitting in the back seat of the car. 

Tony immediately sunk at his words, burying his head into his left hand and pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. It looked like he had already heard an earful from Scott during the time it took for Steve to make his way to them. 

Not getting a response from Tony, Scott aggressively opened the car door and stormed out in a huff, immediately turning to Steve and going into full detail about everything that had happened with the tesseract. How everything had been fine, their plan to distract their past selves working flawlessly, until Tony, tesseract in hand, had ended up losing it when 2012 Hulk had smashed through the door and it had disappeared, Loki with it. How after that they had no choice but to leave before they were caught by someone, making their way to the meetup spot where they ended up getting in the car to wait. Practically spitting fire by the time he was done, he took up pacing, stopping to glare at Tony every few steps. 

Steve knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault; it was a case of bad luck and they had ended up drawing the short end of the stick. Tony hadn’t purposefully gotten hit by Hulk, no one could have predicted that happening, and Steve knew how much this mission meant to Tony. Getting everyone back was something he was placing on his shoulders entirely as he felt that he had let everyone down when he failed to stop Thanos on Titan five years ago. None of this was true, but Steve just hoped that bringing everyone back would allow Tony to let that go, move on with his life with no more guilt. He knew they couldn’t give up now though, they had too much on the line. They had to keep pushing until something else stuck. 

Maintaining to keep the situation as optimistic as he could, he spoke up for the first time since he had arrived.

“Well, what are we going to do now?” 

The question came out more accusatory than he had intended as his frustration with the whole situation rose, not at Tony but at the prospect of going home empty handed, and he internally cringed as Tony’s immediate defensiveness.

“You know what? Give me a break Steve,” he snapped, his annoyance finally flaring at what he likely thought was everyone pointing the fingers at him. “I just got hit in the head with a Hulk.” 

Glaring, he dared Steve to say something else about the situation and Steve tried to soften his face, showing that he wasn’t angry at him. 

Scott, however, wasn’t as sympathetic. 

Blowing out a loud breath of air, he picked up ranting one again, panic and desperation coming out as anger at their seemingly helpless situation. 

“You said that we had one shot! This- _this_ was our shot. We shot it. It’s shot. Six stones or nothing. It was six stones or nothing!” 

Steve turned an irritated eye towards Scott, frustration shifting towards his needlessly pessimistic attitude instead of the situation at hand. His lashing out was doing nothing to get them where they needed to be. It looked like Tony felt the same way, the exasperation on his face being enough to tell Steve all how he was currently viewing Scott. 

The veins in Tony’s temple began pulsing in his poor attempt to keep his anger at bay. “You’re repeating yourself, you know that?”

“You’re repeating yourself; you’re repeating yourself!” Scott mocked back in a tone that was nothing short of juvenile, his incessant rambling making Steve that much closer to using the scepter still clutched in his left hand on him. 

Nothing Scott was doing was making their situation any better. At this rate, they might as well surrender now because passing blame was only keeping them farther away from bringing everyone home. Steve could see both of their tempers rising and knowing that neither of them were about to back down, he was about to step in himself to moderate the conversation when he realized that Tony was talking again, albeit a lot quieter and with downcast eyes as opposed to the glare he had been giving when he was talking to Scott. Honing in on him, Steve could see the stress of the situation weighing on Tony’s shoulders, his brain most likely firing at a mile a minute in his attempt to correct the mistake that had been made. Trying to break him out of his own mind and allow them all to civilly figure out a plan together, he addressed the older man gently.

“Are you talking to yourself over there?” he attempted to joke to bring much needed levity to the situation weighing on all of their minds.

Tony looked up and scowled at Scott. “Trying to work with this clown here is impossible, so I needed _someone_ to have an intellectual conversation with”

“Hey!” Scott shouted, offended, seeming not to realize the extent of the stress he was placing on Tony as he continued to chew him out.

Steve, however, knew the only reason Tony had responded that way was to hide the insecurity he felt at his inability to come up with a way out of the mess they had made. He was scared that he had ruined their chances to bring those they loved back forever and Scott’s continuous mantra against him was not doing his anxiety any favours. 

“Listen, Tony, this wasn’t your fault,” Steve reassured, trying to show him that he was on his side and only wanted to work with him to help solve their dilemma, not belittle his abilities. He had to shoot a hard look at Scott as he saw him about to protest from the corner of his eye, causing Scott to stop in place before setting his face in a line and returning to his pacing, muttering under his breath.

In truth, Scott reminded Steve a lot of his younger and more naive self, the person that saw the world one way and wanted only that way to be true, frantically scrambling to try and reorder the world into the way he wanted. His annoyance at the man softened a bit as he thought more about how connected they were. Steve knew better than anyone what Scott was going through right now. The turmoil that had been, and still was to a degree, in his head after being catapulted through time and dropped in a place you didn’t even recognize, the ones you loved changing with it. To come back the same person while everyone else had changed so much made the world very isolating and hard to navigate as you struggled to find a place where you truly fit in. Steve also had to remind himself that Scott was simply trying to do the same as the rest of them: bring their lost family home. It was a rough time for all of them and Steve was sorely looking toward the future where they would do just that. 

Focusing back on Tony he could see the pain in his eyes; the guilt radiating off of his body as he placed the lost Tesseract entirely on his own. “Isn't it?” 

Sighing, Steve gave Tony a helpless look, mirroring the anguish Tony was currently feeling. At this rate they were just going in self-pitying circles, no real end to their pointless jabbering, so he decided to push a new angle, delivering the conversation in a, hopefully, more helpful direction in order to actually start working on an active solution to help them out.

“Are there any other options with the tesseract?” His attempt for a peaceful continuation was blown right out of the water by Scott as soon as the words left his mouth.

“No, no no, there are no _other_ options!” barked Scott. “There’s no _do-overs_ '' firmly punctuating his words as he slammed the car door he had left open in his haste to get out shut, causing Tony to flinch and put his head in both hands. Steve suspected it was in pain as well as dispiritedness, the sudden slam of the door only serving to make the headache he was clearly nursing from the hit by Hulk skyrocket.

“We’re not going anywhere else.” Scott continued hotly, “We have one particle left: _Each._ That’s it alright? We use that, bye-bye, you’re not going home.” 

Steve’s sympathy he had just felt towards the man was quickly deflating, anger surging up as Scott’s constant fatalistic monologues were finally starting to grate on his nerves making him retaliate back.

“Yeah? Well, if we don’t try then no one else is going home either.” 

The two of them stared at each other, tempers rising, challenging the other one to speak when Tony interrupted, bringing them back to the present before anything could happen. Steve was tempted to challenge the man to a fight, something childish perhaps, but not far off from what he would have done back in the day with one of the guys in training camp that needed to deflate their ego. But Steve let it go in order to focus on Tony.

“I got it,” he gasped as he got out of the car, a desperate look on his face as he turned to Steve and began carefully relaying the plan that had come to his brilliant mind. 

“There’s another way to retake the Tesseract _and_ acquire new particles.” 

That last bit was directed at Scott, a direct jab at his constant complaining, but he didn’t wait for the man in question to respond, immediately refocusing on Steve as he walked closer, trying to connect Steve to the ideas in his mind. 

“A little stroll down memory lane,” he supplied vaguely, tilting his head as he approached. Steve didn’t know what he was getting at until he spoke his next words. “Military Installation, Garden State.”

 _There it was._ Steve’s eyes widened in realization, Tony’s plan becoming crystal clear. He wanted to go back to Camp Lehigh Army base, Steve’s old training grounds, a place where not only the Tesseract was once stored but also where Hank Pym had initially set up shop. It was a good move, but a risky one. If it meant getting their friends back, however, Steve was willing to do whatever it took to do it. 

Unfortunately, Steve found one issue with the plan: he had no idea what time they would have to go back to. The files he had poured over to learn all he had missed regarding S.H.I.E.L.D. and their many exploits were helpful to a point, but trying to pinpoint an exact date they would’ve crossed paths was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

He stared off to the side, racking his brain for any information to help them out. “When were they both there?” he questioned, glancing back at Tony, his face pinching at the uncertainty of the plan.

Tony scrambled to answer, frantically trying to put together the pieces of what was essentially their last-ditch effort to finish their mission. “They were there at a time-” he cut himself off and started again. “I have a vaguely exact idea,” he finished, willing Steve to go along with his plan.

Steve didn’t know if it was enough. If they were wrong they could be stuck here forever, leaving their teammates to deal with the situation on their own. “And exactly how vague is that?”

“I know for a fact they were there and I know how I know.” Steve could see the truthfulness in his eyes, the sureness that this was the right call. He could also hear Scott jabbering in the background trying to get in on their conversation, but Steve just ignored him, all his attention focused on Tony’s attempt to save their ass.

Tilting his head back to collect his thoughts, all the information Tony had just given making his brain spin with all the things that could go wrong, he came to the conclusion that this was their only chance to continue. If they did nothing they would go home empty handed, but if they tried this and it worked, they would have nothing to worry about. They could finish the mission and get back home to everyone, the ability to snap everyone back almost fully in their grasp. Bringing his head back to face Tony, he put a resigned look on his face, letting Tony know he agreed.

“Guys, what is it?” Scott demanded as he saw the look, not at all understanding what was going on.

Steve finally addressed him, not moving his gaze from Tony’s face. “Looks like we’re improvising.”

Relief washed over Tony as Steve accepted his plan to give them a second chance. “Great” he breathed. 

Set in stone, Steve began making his own plan in his mind. It would just have to be the two of them, an extra person making it more likely they’d get caught along with the fact that someone had to take the scepter back in case things went South. Walking over to Scott quickly, he held out the scepter and told him what was what, not letting him have any chance of rebuttal to their newly formed plan.

“Scott, get this back to the compound” he ordered and immediately turned back towards Tony. 

“Suit up” Tony called, giving Steve the date they both needed to punch into their suits as soon as he made it back next to him. “04-07-1-9-7-0.” 

Punching in the month and day, Steve hesitated, not wanting to type the final numbers in until he knew Tony was confident with his own plan. “Are you sure?” he asked firmly, confirming that Tony knew, somewhat at least, about what they were about to do. Tony just nodded, not letting any uncertainty show. 

_Good enough for me._

Punching the last four numbers in, they both looked over as Scott made his presence known again, frustrated that he wasn’t included in their plan. 

“Excuse me! Cap- Captain! Steve- Sorry, America- Rogers,” he floundered before stopping and collecting his thoughts and starting again at their annoyed looks. They didn’t have time for mindless thoughts, they had to start working on their newly formed Plan B before something else could go wrong. “Look, if you do this and it doesn’t work… you’re not coming back.”

Steve knew that Scott meant well and was just trying to help, but after everything that had happened in the last ten minutes both he, although more so Tony, had had enough of his talking.

“Thanks for the pep talk, Pissant,” Tony replied, shooting the man one last glare and then turned to Steve. “You trust me?” he asked in all seriousness. 

Steve’s heart sank a bit at the question. In his mind he thought it was obvious that he did, never once not trusting the man’s judgement, simply disagreeing with him on things in the past, but it saddened him to think that he probably didn’t deserve Tony’s trust back. After everything their friendship had been through at the expense of Steve’s own friendship with Bucky, he wasn’t sure that he was worthy of that privilege anymore. 

“I do.” He stated, voice unwavering in an attempt to push how deeply this was true onto Tony. Make him understand that Steve supported him wholeheartedly in his plan.

Tony nodded again in what Steve assumed was probably a more sub-conscious reaffirmation of his own words than a conscious effort and handed Steve the reins. “Your call, Captain”

Taking a calming breath, Steve figured it was now or never. No matter what was about to happen they had at least tried and that was all that mattered to Steve. “Here we go.” In unison they tapped the buttons on their suit and felt the nanotech engulf their bodies quickly, disappearing in a flash the second it had fully formed around them, leaving the scepter and a very confused Scott behind.


	2. Ghosts of The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honour of WandaVision double feature week we decided to post the second chapter as well. This one starts to go a bit more off the path from the original movie and briefly features a certain someone who has a lot to say.

Steve and Tony walked into the elevator quickly, not wanting to wait around in the open in what Steve knew would be a stupid way to get caught. They both stuck out like sore thumbs here, Tony not fitting the style of the 70s at all and Steve’s face literally being the heart of the Army base.

Tony was now fitted in a dark blue suit, the SHIELD emblem sewn onto the top left of the jacket, a powder blue shirt underneath featuring a horrible dark grey tie around his neck, covered in ugly green and red spots, to tie the whole look together. Steve was in an army green Captain’s uniform, thick black belt separating the cotton jacket and the thick cargo pants, a matching green hat and a pair of brown sunglasses on his face to try and hide it as much as they could from prying eyes. Both of their outfits had been stolen from the men’s dressing room at the front of the Camp, Tony having singled it out with the use of his tech glasses before he had used them to find the main elevator to take them to where they needed to go to get the items they had come for.

Walking through the familiar courtyard and into the elevator now, it was hitting him about how weird it was to be back here: the birthplace of his journey to becoming Captain America. It was strange to admit, but he felt at home here in a way that he was never quite able to anywhere else. If he had never put the Valkyrie into the ice, this is where he’d be: Serving alongside the other soldiers to help their country in any way they could. 

The sudden opening of the mechanical doors startled him out of his thoughts as he remembered where they were. He looked up to see Tony making his way onto his desired floor, stopping to quickly say a goodbye to Steve to make them seem less suspicious to the lady they had gotten in with, noticing her giving them the side eye now that he was paying attention.

“Good luck on your mission, Captain”

Steve stumbled a clumsy, “Good luck on your project… Doctor,” as Tony turned and walked into the hallway in front of him.

He shook his head, scowling at himself for what he had just said. _God, that sounded so stupid._

Turning around in the safety of the hallway, out of the woman’s view, Tony shot Steve one last look before the doors closed, leaving Steve on his own with the woman he knew was starting to get suspicious of their behaviour. Seeming to give him the benefit of the doubt, however, she looked over at him and smiled, politeness written on her face to combat the awkward tension now hanging in the air. 

“You new here?” she asked sweetly, most likely assuming he was a nervous new recruit starting his first day at the army base. Hesitantly making eye contact he replied with the first thing that came to his mind, not thinking the meaning of his words through before letting them escape his mind. 

“Not exactly.” 

He regretted it the moment he said it to her. Even though she nodded like it made sense she still kept a close eye on him after that, her gaze so intense that Steve swore she could see right through his clothes to the striped spandex underneath. 

Redirecting his focus on the elevator doors where he couldn’t do anymore damage, he silently cursed his rookie mistake. Being undercover was nothing new to him, something he had gotten ample practice in during the two year on the run from the government, but he had still left most of the smooth talking to Nat when they had to bluff their way out of tough situations. The words never seemed to come out right for him, the only times they ever got him anywhere seeming to be a happy coincidence, but something about this place made his attempts at bluffing all the more awkward and unconvincing. _Tony really shouldn’t have left me alone here._

When the doors finally squeaked open Steve practically ran into the hallway, putting as much distance between himself and the suspecting agent as possible before looking back to check if she was behind him. Luckily she didn’t follow him, and, somehow, he appeared to be in the clear. Taking a moment to relish the fact that his cover hadn’t been blown yet, he looked around to see where he needed to go. Seeing the directory on the wall, he found Hank Pym’s name and saw that the arrow was pointing to the right. Following its direction, he set his and Tony’s plan into motion. 

During the time it took them to find and get dressed in their cover uniforms, they had drawn up a game plan to get all that they needed from 1970. Tony was to look through the basement storage for the tesseract he knew his dad had stored down there, while Steve was on a mission to retrieve the extra Pym particles from Hank's office so they could get back home. It was a good plan, a plan that should be easy to pull off without a hitch, but with how things were going so far Steve had the sneaking suspicion that he may just have to punch his way out of another high security sparring match.

Straightening his Army uniform and fixing his hat as he walked, he made sure to act as casually as possible as he made his way down the hallway, not wanting to draw any extra attention to himself in the likely event that someone recognized his face. 

Wandering for a few minutes, he finally found an empty room with a rotary phone sitting on the desk close to where he knew Hank’s office was. Picking up the rotary phone’s handset, he saw another directory conveniently resting next to the phone with a list of everyone on the floor and an accompanying phone number, making it easy for Steve to skim the list and find the one he was looking for. 

His hand hesitated over the dial, knowing where he was going to send his outgoing message but unsure on how exactly to phrase what he was about to say. For everything to work according to plan, Steve now had to spin a tale good enough to get Hank out of his office so he could swoop in and grab what they needed. Tricking him with a dangerous delivery had seemed like his best option when talking it over with Tony, both of them knowing he dealt with questionable substances all the time while working on his experiments, so as long as he followed those guidelines then there should be no problem. 

Finally lowering his hand to the circular dial he entered in the number, easily able to navigate the old technology, and fidgeted with his belt loop as he listened to it ring. The mechanical chime went off several times, each feeling longer than the next, before the line was finally picked up and a gravelly voice hummed from the other end. 

“Hello?”

“Doctor Pym?” 

“That would be the number that you called, yes,” Hank replied, and judging from the grit in his voice he was likely annoyed that someone was bothering him during work.

Realizing that he had to give himself a name, he struggled for a second before blurting the only one that had come to his panicked mind. “Yes, hi, this is Captain-uh- Stevens from shipping. We have a package for you.”

He heard a sigh travel over the line, his reply now being met with a gentler tone. “Oh, bring it up then.”

He and Tony had thought hard about this and had come to the conclusion that only something disastrous would be able to bring him from his office. 

“That's the thing, sir, we can’t.”

“I’m confused. I thought that was your job.” 

“Well, it’s just… Sir, the box is glowing and to be honest, some of our mail guys aren’t feeling that great.” Praying that it was enough to cause alarm he gripped the phone tightly, feeling it get slippery in his hand as he anxiously awaited Hank’s response.

“They didn’t open it, did they?” 

Steve breathed a sigh of relief, their plan was working: Hank sounded worried. 

“Uh, yeah, they did. You better get down here.” 

Hank didn’t even reply in his haste to leave. The line simply went silent before being replaced with the pounding of feet out in the hall accompanied by panicked yelling as he rushed out of his office to check on what he thought was an actual emergency. Hanging up on his end, Steve smiled as he ducked out of the room just in time to see Hank run by, pushing people out of his way as he went. 

Taking the opportunity as he saw it, Steve hastily walked down the hallway in the opposite direction and into the now empty office. Walking around the large room his eyes roamed over the sea of desks, all full of technical equipment he had no idea what it belonged to, along with the endless and almost comedic amount of ant stuff. Somehow Steve’s eyes managed to sort through it all, the many ant enclosures, bottles of chemicals, scientific tools and small experiments, broken pieces of dissected electronics and cables leading everywhere all over the room, before finally catching sight of the one item he was interested in. There at the very back, hosted behind the large glass window of a radioactive holding container, were the tiny vials of Pym Particles. 

Walking over and carefully reaching in through one of the circular holes that fashioned on the glass, as well as the side of the box for somewhat easy access, he paid no attention to the multiple warning signs of “do not touch”. Their cause was more important than the immediate consequences at hand, plus he had a feeling that if Hank knew his invention was being used to alter the fate of the entire universe he would faint from happiness right then and there. 

Pulling out four vials of the red liquid, he pocketed the items with as steady of a hand as he could manage. Making sure nothing else was out of place, he hurried back out the door, looking around to make sure the coast was clear before silently creeping out and joining the other few people walking down the hallway. 

Moving with purpose, he was halfway back to the elevator when a sudden familiar face rounded the corner straight down the hall, surrounded by three security officers. It was the lady from the elevator; the one that had given both him and Tony the side-eye at their pathetic attempt to blend in. Heart racing as for a split second he thought he had been caught, he realized that they hadn’t seen him yet. 

Pulling his cap low over his face, he stiffly turned and noticed another, thankfully empty, office to his right. Opening the door, he swiftly stepped inside and shut it behind him, pressing his back against the wall to further hide himself as he watched their shadows walk by the frosted window. Grateful that he had once again made it by the skin of his teeth, he turned to leave before anything else could go wrong when something caught his eye in the dark. 

Just barely through the dim light shining through the office door window, he could spot several framed pictures on the desk, glinting in the small amount of light available. Intrigued, he made his way to the desk slowly, disbelief setting in as he got closer, realizing what he had seen: 

There, in pristine condition, was a black and white photo of himself from his bootcamp days, taken before he had even gotten the super-soldier serum. 

Reaching down with a shaking hand to pick it up and inspect it more carefully, he ended up knocking over the frame to his right in the process. 

Gently setting the picture of himself down, he picked up the fallen frame and felt his heart skip a beat as he was unexpectedly met with three smiling faces. There, in all her wonder, was Peggy Carter, _his_ Peggy Carter, with a man beside her. He was leaning on a cane with his left hand and his right was supporting the small of her back, and a young boy with messy dark brown hair, no older than four was between them, his grin largest of all. 

Running his thumb over the glass in awe, he nearly dropped the picture again at the unanticipated cocking of a gun behind him, the lights coming on at the same time causing him to squint at the bright intrusion.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my office?” 

The cold voice sent chills down his spine for more reasons than one. Even with its iciness it was still one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. It was a voice he never thought would grace his ears again. 

He stood there unmoving, both in shock of the familiar presence and the dread of being caught. Heavily debating if he could make a break for it, he ultimately came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t get far. After all, he knew that she was too clever for that and he wouldn’t even make it past the door before hitting the ground with a bullet in the back of his head.

“Better speak up, _Captain,_ ” she bit out, referring to the Captain’s uniform he was sporting. He could tell her patience was beginning to wane, not impressed that someone was snooping around her office. “Next time I won’t ask so nicely.” 

Captain. The title caused suppressed emotions to flood him inside, the memories of being in this very place, training for the army, alongside the same person he was talking to now, made his heart ache for the simpler days, the ones where he wasn’t saving the world from an all-powerful alien tyrant with a grudge against happiness. Not being able to constrain the urge to turn around and see her face any longer, he finally set the picture he was still holding firmly in his right hand down, and slowly twisted around, his hands in the air to show her he meant no harm. 

He saw the deep surprise on her face, the way her cheeks paled as she stared at the person whom she thought was long dead. Her strong stance faltered and her weapon lowered slightly as she took in Steve before her, the last face she had probably ever expected to see. Her initial shock was wearing off, however, and panic was beginning to set in her eyes. Knowing the type of person she was, the thought that this was some cruel trick set up by Hydra was likely to be running rampant in her mind as she took him in. 

“Please, don’t scream, I can explain everything,” he sputtered at the rising alarm on her face, reaching his hands out to her in a gesture to keep calm. 

"You- you’re _dead_!” Peggy gasped, eyes wide. 

_Great, now how am I going to get myself out of this one?_

  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Goodbye at Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we know what we said about only posting two chapters today and leaving the rest for weekly uploads, but we decided that we should post one more chapter to show a little bit more about how this fic will differ from the movie. We promise this is the last upload for this week! XD

Steve knew he was rambling, but it was all he could do to try and come up with an excuse worthy enough to satisfy Peggy as to why he had suddenly shown up after 27 years of being declared dead. The thought of bumping into her had never crossed his frazzled mind as he and Tony had rushed to push their new plan to get the items they needed into action. In a last ditch effort he just started speaking, hoping that by some miracle he could string together a half decent lie to calm her highly trained mind before she sounded the alarm bells and ruined their chance of bringing everyone home for good. 

“No, I’m not dead. Listen, it’s really complicated, but I didn’t die in that crash, it was just supposed to look like I did. I’ve been living undercover ever since. Not one knows about it, not even Howard, but I can’t tell you anything else.” His answer was really flat and didn’t make much sense, but he hoped the emotions of the situation were enough to draw her away from that, show her that it was really him. 

She tilted her head in disbelief, lowering her gun completely as she took him in. He could tell she didn’t believe him, the way she was holding herself, tight and perfectly straight like she always did when she knew someone was lying, was more than enough. She had lowered her gun, though, and that was a win in Steve’s eyes. As long as she stayed calm everything would be okay. 

“How do I even know it’s really you? What if this is all just some trick to get government secrets out of me?” she accused harshly, narrowing her eyes at him.

Staring back for a moment, his mind tumbled over itself looking for some possible combination of words that could prove himself to her. The answer came to him all at once, simple and clear. His face softened, looking at her with pure honesty and vulnerability, hoping that it would be enough to prove that he was in fact that same guy from Brooklyn she’d known and come to love.

“Peg, it’s me.” 

He pushed as much of himself into the words as he possibly could. He counted on the nickname being enough; she hated when people called her that, only ever allowing Steve to do it. It had become their thing, always making her glare at him when he did it, but never telling him to stop like she did with the other guys who attempted to use it. Jealous that Steve was getting close with Peggy. 

It seemed to work, something beginning to shift inside of her, as the confusion in her face melted into a more intense emotion of frustration; Steve could only imagine the feelings his sudden resurgence was bringing to the surface for her. The situation was much like seeing a ghost, something he himself had experienced firsthand when Bucky appeared back in his life two years after being topside. Despite this, however, and the guilt striking his heart at the pain he knew would follow their interaction, he couldn’t help but bask in the overjoyed sensation that came from being able to see her face in person after all this time. 

Not quite sharing his same sentiment yet, she stormed over to her desk and slammed her gun down with a metallic bang, turning on her heels quickly to face Steve head on. She stared at him for a few seconds, fire burning in her eyes and lips pursed in anger, not saying a word. Steve opened his mouth to speak, wanting to break the dense tension between them, but was instantly quieted when she abruptly brought her hand up and slapped him, the palm smacking across his left cheek with a fury he didn’t know she was capable of, making his head snap to the right. Stunned, he brought his left hand up to his face to cover the now burning spot, and moved his head back, staring down at her with wide eyes and a ringing left ear as he numbly registered the fire that was slowly spreading through his face from the shock of it all. While that had been the last thing he was expecting from her in the moment it nonetheless made his lips turn up in happiness. Peggy was still the Peggy he knew and it brought him back to simpler times of war- one that wasn’t intergalactical. 

“ _That_ was for lying to me and disappearing for so long.” 

His heart broke at the pain in her voice, watching as angry tears sprang into her eyes. The devastation she was feeling was etched in the misery on her face as the love she once held for him caused deep sadness, one Steve was feeling right now, to permeate her being. Looking at her now, he felt the part of his soul he had reserved for only her longing for him to kiss her, scoop her in his arms and take her away so they could live that life they had reserved for one another finally, but he squashed it down, knowing it couldn’t happen. He had to remind himself that she had moved on while he was gone, rightfully so, and he was on a mission to save the world. His life wasn’t able to suit her needs nor could he give her the love she so desperately deserved. And based on the picture he had discovered before she came in, she had found just that and Steve wasn’t about to take it all away to fulfill what was essentially a selfish need on his part. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, tears of his own coming into his eyes. “I had to. There was no other way.” 

Letting a few tears fall, she took him in, along with his sincere emotion, and finally softened herself, although he could still see the begrudging acceptance lingering in her eyes as she didn’t allow herself to give in completely in what he could sense was fear of her heart being crushed by him once again.

An idea sprung into his mind as their eyes roamed over each other's face, their unspoken love and adoration mingling in the air around them before covering them in an invisible layer of solitude for the moment they were having. It brought a certain promise back to his mind causing him to examine her small office to find what he needed. Spotting a small black radio sitting on her desk, he walked over to it and turned the plastic knob, filling the room with static. Filtering through the stations to find the perfect song, he saw Peggy staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Steve?” 

He ignored her as he continued to tune the radio, looking for the right song for the moment. After a moment of tuning, he finally found it. Hearing the song, he knew it was exactly what he had been searching for: Turning up the volume, he let Harry James’ smooth voice fill the room, _It’s Been A Long, Long Time_ crackling lively out of the small speakers, creating the perfect atmosphere for the moment Steve had been dreaming of for years. 

“Steve, what are you doing?” Turning to face her once again, she had a suspicious look on her face, one that was questioning his, and probably her own as well, sanity in the moment. 

He just smiled at her, taking in how beautiful she looked no matter what expression was on her face. 

“Keeping a promise. There might not be a band, but this is something slow. I hope you don’t mind that I kept my best girl waiting for so long.” 

Comprehension dawned on her face as he saw her realize what he was getting at. 

“Now…? After all this time, you’re just going to show up and offer me a dance like that?” she asked, conflict wrinkling her brow as she watched him approach, coming across the room to stop a few inches away from her hesitant gaze. 

“I know, this isn’t how I wanted this to go either, but what’s the harm in a little dancing with an old friend?” 

He held out his hand as he spoke, enticing her to agree to the moment that was a long time coming. He could see her trying to figure out what her best move was, glaring at his offered hand before finally giving in to the temptation when she realized he wasn’t about to back down. 

“Oh, all right.” 

While the annoyance in her tone would have fooled anyone, the smile that decorated her face spoke otherwise. Steve knew she was secretly delighted at the premise. This meant just as much to her as it did to him. It had been the last thing they had spoken about before he put the Valkyrie in the ice and for that, a fitting conclusion to their relationship now. They were fulfilling a promise and with that, their emotions could be let free live their lives separately, but with their hearts always connected in ways no one else could dream of. Peggy would always be his first love, nothing would ever change that, nor did he want anything to. If he had the choice to do it all over again, he would do nothing different. Peggy helped shape him into the man he was today and for that he would always love her.

Firmly taking the hand she placed in his own, soft as velvet against the tough skin of his palm, rough from constant work on the front line of battle, he gently pulled her towards the middle of the room where he kept her left hand tucked into his right, putting his left hand around her waist, pulling her in closer to him. Doing the same, he felt her small hand press on the middle of his back and they pulled impossibly closer, her head coming to rest on his broad chest while he placed the cheek she had slapped only moments ago, still stinging slightly from the impact, on the top of her head. 

Taking in the feeling of her small body in his much larger arms, they enjoyed the remaining moments of the song, it having been halfway through when he found the channel. Simply enjoying each other’s presence, swaying in place, they both got lost in the music. Steve’s own mind found its way back to the good old days before he became Captain America-before he lost everything he once knew. 

Feeling the void their abrupt goodbye had left inside of him begin to fill as they danced, it barely registered when the song finally faded away and was replaced with a slightly more upbeat, but still soft, melody. He was only startled out of his love-filled daze when Elvis’ voice suddenly rang out as he started singing _It’s Now or Never._ Thrown off by the sudden change of tone, however small it had been, he faltered slightly and ended up stepping on Peggy’s left foot.

“Ouch!” She lifted her head for the first time since they had started dancing, from its place on his chest, to shoot him a glare. 

“Sorry,” he grinned sheepishly, hoping she wouldn’t kill him for his terrible dancing skills. 

“After all this time, you still don’t know how to dance?” she teased, poking him in the chest playfully, the feeling of her warm finger present even through the two layers he was currently sweating like a pig in.

“Never really got the chance to learn. Too many other things on my mind I guess.” As soon as he had been freed from the ice his life had been one mission after another, never giving him the chance to relax, although that was something he didn’t know if he was actually capable of even if he was given the down time. He never had been one to just sit around, him and Bucky always finding ways to get into trouble when they were younger. 

She huffed out an annoyed breath while she searched his eyes, both of them still continuing to dance as they talked. 

“You know, this game of secrecy is getting really old. Why don’t you tell me what really happened with you?”

He looked down at her sadly, guilt filling his chest once again at the fact that he couldn’t tell her. It was too much to go into with how little time he had and he didn’t want his life to complicate hers more than it already had. It was better for both of them for him to stay quiet, keep his purpose for being here vague. 

“You have no idea how much I want to Peggy, but I just can’t.” She seemed hurt that he wouldn’t tell her, but nodded and placed her head back on his chest. 

Hating the fact that he had made her upset, Steve knew he had to make it right. He didn’t want this moment to be marred with annoyance and distrust. Wracking his brain for something to say, the picture on her desk came back into his mind, so he decided to bring it up, wanting to know more about who the two others she was posing with were.

“Is that your boyfriend? The man with the cane?” She pushed off his chest again, this time in surprise, immediately putting up a defensive front, her back going rigid in his arms.

“What are you talking about?”

He smiled gently, trying to put her at ease. “The picture on your desk. I saw a man and a little boy standing next to you.”

She relaxed a bit and looked a bit embarrassed with her overt reaction. “Right. Um, no, he’s actually my husband; and the little boy, he’s our son.”

It was Steve’s turn to be surprised, momentarily stopping their gentle swaying at her words. It was only Elvis’ voice that filled the room due to the pregnant pause growing between them at the confession. 

_I’d spend a lifetime- waiting for the right time- now that you’re near, the time is here- at last._

Frozen in shock, he realized he was just staring blankly at her and slowly began to move again, the shock of her being married with a child slowly settling into his mind. It was something that shouldn’t be surprising, he had been presumed dead for 27 years, but in his mind they were still young and in love.

“I couldn’t put my life on hold, Steve.” The pain on her face and in her voice demonstrated how hard it must have been for her to move on. Tears began welling in her eyes again as she continued, “And now you’re here and you won’t tell me anything that happened, and I just don’t know what to think.” Her breathing began to hitch and she buried her face in his chest again, hiding in shame for the emotions she was showing, never one to be vulnerable around others. It was part of the reason they had bonded so deeply; they weren’t afraid to be their true selves around one another and for this reason he knew how much his lying was currently hurting her.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he soothed, squeezing her into him. Letting her take a few calming deep breaths he decided to ask her more about them, genuinely curious to know how her life had gone after he had plunged into the ice and wanting her to open up more instead of shutting her feelings away. This was going to be the last time he could talk to her and he wanted to make every second count. 

“Why don’t you tell me about them?” She pulled out of their tight embrace, keeping her hands around his waist this time, and gave him a watery smile, looking happier that he was interested in her new life instead of upset that she had moved on. 

“Well, that man you noticed there is my Daniel, Daniel Sousa, and we met through work. I was part of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, in it’s days before it became SHIELD, trying to work on cases and build up my career but most of the time getting left holding the phone. That and paperwork, mountains of it. He had always been out on cases, our paths only crossing when he was at the office for staff meetings, interrogating suspects or briefly needed behind the desk. I had been on for a full year before we really got to know one another. It actually all started when our friend Mr. Stark had found himself in quite the jam. He had been made a fugitive to the United States government, on the run for dealing weapons with the enemies of the Nation. It was the common belief that the weapons were sold, but in reality they had been stolen. The SSR, however, had believed the former and refused to listen to my claims that Howard was a good man, Daniel being the only one to treat my opinion with any amount of respect even if he didn’t share it. Then, that very evening, none other than Howard himself came to me in a dark alley to request my help in clearing his name. I had agreed to his plan and went against the SSR with the aid of his butler, Mr. Edwin Jarvis, and together we came closer to solving the case than any other agent. 

“Long story short, the undercover nature of my mission only lasted for so long, the SSR finding out my conspiracy with Howard and Mr. Jarvis, and while not amused they were impressed. After our story rang true, Daniel and I spent much more time together, becoming what you might call partners in crime prevention and, well, things sort of blossomed from there. He was always kind, never looking down on me because I was a woman, and as time went by I learned to trust his judgement in the same way he trusted mine. He wasn’t like the other men with their dirty words and demeaning stares. He saw me as the person I was and for that I have always been thankful. As we worked together more and more, learning what made the other tick and coming to trust each other’s capabilities as agents completely, we fell in love. I knew Daniel was the right person for me; no one had made me feel the way he did for such a long time.” 

Steve knew from the way she had looked at him as she said this that she was referring to him. Their love for one another had been unparalleled at the time, but the way she described Daniel, the warmth that filled her eyes as she spoke, told Steve all he needed to know about the man’s character. Peggy was unquestionably in love and he was sincerely appreciative to the man who had been able to claim her heart. It left Steve wanting to know more though, where he had been before the SSR and what had happened for him to require a cane at such a young age.

“What about the-” he cut his thought off as he realized how insensitive it sounded. It didn’t matter what happened to his leg, only that he was a good person and made Peggy happy.

“Cane?’ She finished for him, not looking upset with his unspoken question.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s none of my business.”

“No that’s alright, we get it a lot. Daniel hates the question because when people hear the answer they tend to applaud him for his sacrifice, but he sees it as them taking pity on him and trying to cover it up with gratitude. His philosophy is that there are people worse off than him who go overlooked so nobody should make a fuss about his situation. I always try and tell him it’s perfectly okay to have struggles, that they all deserve to be recognized, but he doesn't want to hear it. You’re probably one of the only people who could truly understand his whole situation.”

A sense of realization washed over Steve as he pieced together what this was probably about. “Was it the war?”

She nodded, glancing over at the picture on her desk with a sad look on her face. “Daniel was a reconnaissance scout for 28th Infantry Regiment. He was injured in the line of duty when his right leg was blown off by a landmine and then left for dead by his fellow comrades.” Steve could hear the resentment toward them in her voice, the disgust that they’d leave one of their own behind. He completely understood; it was unthinkable to him for anyone to leave a fellow brother injured and dying on the battlefield. It was the one rule of war each soldier kept close to their heart: Unless it would put your own life or someone else’s at immediate risk, you always went back to help a brother in need.

“HYDRA soldiers ended up finding him and taking him into their Austrian facility,” she continued, “cauterizing his leg before throwing him into one of their many cells filled with the other men they had captured. There, he spent his days as their slave amongst all the other prisoners, making weapons to aid in HYDRA’s plan to conquer the war. He spent a month there before one day the men had had enough and began acting out, refusing to work. Well, HYDRA didn’t take kindly to that and, one morning after a few days of rebellion, they gathered them all up, even the ones who weren’t defying orders like Daniel, and picked someone out of the crowd to use as their example. This, of course, ended up being Daniel and right as they were about to start teaching them all a lesson, torturing him right then and there to put them in their place, Sergeant Barnes stepped up and asked for them to take him instead.” 

Steve sucked in a sharp breath at the mention of Bucky’s name. _So this is how it all began._ Steve had always pondered why they chose Bucky to use for the Winter Soldier experiments, but now he knew why. Bucky, being the selfless man he was, had put himself out there to help a fellow soldier in need. 

“They immediately took his offer, throwing Daniel back into the crowd because they thought it was funny that James was actually willing to do something so stupid for a man he didn’t know. He took the beating for Daniel and most definitely saved his life that day. His leg had gotten infected from their rough and minimalist treatment of his wound. I know that he wouldn’t have been able to handle anything more after that, his body was too weak.” She stopped talking to stare at the floor, remorse for what had happened next lining her face as emotion entered her voice causing it to tremble while she spoke.

“The men never saw James after that, everyone thinking they had killed him, when in reality they had taken him in as one of their ‘experiments’. But then you came along only days later, with your determination to defy orders, and released them all, Daniel being one of the people who was carried out. He wasn’t allowed to stay in the war after that though, his missing leg made it so he didn’t qualify to be a soldier anymore. Although if that had never happened we would have never gotten together. I’m not saying I’m glad it happened to him, but I am grateful that he came into my life. I don’t know where I’d be without him.” 

She wiped a stray tear from her eye, a bitter smile on her face as she divulged this information to Steve. He clenched his own jaw at the emotion building there, happy that Peggy had found someone as amazing as Daniel, but also regretful that it couldn’t have been him. He looked at the picture on her desk again and realized that it was probably better this way. He had put her through so much pain and now she was living the life he couldn’t. She had a loving husband, an adoring son, and Steve was thankful she had been able to find that peace in her life. It also made his heart ache for Bucky and what he had gone through all because of a selfless act. It had saved a helpless man, however, and given Peggy a chance at a new life, a debt no one could ever repay him. Steve hoped he could work somewhat towards it by bringing him and everyone else back. Returning the favour and giving Bucky a second chance at life was the least he could do. 

“I’m glad you found your life Peggy, I really am.”

“Thank you Steve. I just hope wherever your path leads that the same can happen for you one day.”

“I hope so too.” 

Although he had agreed, he didn’t actually know if that could ever happen for him. The way his life was, settling down and starting a family never seemed to fit. Though that was something people used to think of Tony, but look where he was now. Happily married and a father of a beautiful young girl. Maybe things could change. _Speaking of children._

“What about your son? What’s his name?”

A proud look came over her face at the question. “Steven Buchanan Sousa-Carter. We named him after the two bravest men we knew, the ones we wouldn’t have been able to build this life without.”

“Wow, Peggy, I’m honoured. You didn't have to do that; I was only doing what I thought was right and I know Bucky would feel the same.”

She shook her head playfully. “Ever the selfless man at heart. It was the least we could do.”

There was a comfortable silence in which Steve was thinking about everything he had just learned when Peggy spoke again, giving him more information on her life. “Steven’s 23 now and going to school to become a lawyer, but that picture has always been my favourite so it’s the one I keep on my desk.” 

She looked very pleased with what he was accomplishing, the adoration for her family swimming in her deep brown eyes making them glimmer in a way Steve had only seen a few times: moments where she was genuinely happy. It filled Steve with his own happiness for her. She was thriving and he wanted nothing but the best for her and her family. 

The knowledge that she had named her son after both Steve and Bucky brought him back to his best friend and what he had done to save a man he didn’t even know. Of course Bucky would never have said anything about it, too humble to ever speak of anything of that sort, but the pride he felt at the newfound knowledge of Bucky’s sacrifice made him appreciate the man on a whole new level. He was a man always putting other people first and the fact that he had been turned into the Winter Soldier because of it was a cruel and twisted act of God that Steve would never understand. If anything, Bucky was the last person on earth to deserve such a cruel fate. He had always been there for Steve growing up, no matter what the situation was, willing to do anything to help Steve out. It made what they were doing even more important, making him count on the fact that they’d get the stones back to their time and undo everything Thanos had done even further than before. If getting Bucky back was the last thing he did, Steve would be able to rest easy because giving Bucky a second chance at life was the only thing that mattered to him.

She broke him out of his deep train of thought, the sudden anguish and desperation in her voice causing Steve to look up in alarm. “I want you to know that Daniel tried so hard to get someone to recognize James’ efforts, but no one would corroborate his story. HYDRA had scared them enough that they didn’t want to talk about what happened in fear that they’d be found and silenced. I tried my best too, pleading with the people who interviewed me for my portion of the Captain America Exhibit at the museum but they wouldn’t listen either, shutting me down every time I brought it up because ‘Captain America’ was the only thing the world cared about, not someone no one had even heard of, so they kept him as your loyal friend instead of the war hero he was. It still makes me so angry Steve! But there was nothing I could do.”

He saw the raw pain in her eyes, the hopelessness of her power to get them to change their minds, and it made Steve realize how deeply he had been viewing her the wrong way in reality, even more so since he had awoken from the ice. When he had first laid eyes on her, he had appreciated her for her individuality and spirit, never one to back down from the male superiors in her life and always ready to put people in their place. She had forever been widely underestimated and had used this to her advantage to make things go the way she wanted, and it had made Steve instantly fall in love. 

He remembered the days in training camp, the countless nights spent listening to the other guys fantasize about what they wanted to do to her, some going into detail about how they would have liked to catch her in the shower stalls sudsing up her hair, others wanting to watch her do paperwork just to be able to stare at her for longer periods of time, and it had always made Steve’s stomach lurch in disgust. It was even worse as it didn’t stop during the days; the catcalling and whistling would make Steve’s temper rise more every time it happened even as Peggy just ignored it all. They made sure that they felt they owned her, making it so nothing they were doing was wrong because she was a woman and ‘asking for it’ for working in a male dominated field. It had been the straw that broke the camel’s back, Steve constantly challenging the much larger and stronger men to fight every time he caught them saying anything of the sort about her. There were many instances where he’d come to training, limping or sporting a black eye or broken nose from these fights, but he had always blamed it on tripping or an accident while he was training on his own time. There was no point admitting the truth, the other guys would have seen that as betrayal and it would have just made everything so much worse, so he sucked it up and let it happen to him.

All that had been before the serum though, and things had changed drastically since then. More so now than ever, with everything he had just learned about Peggy’s life, her family and the push to get Bucky recognition, he realized that he had been seeing her as an object to desire as well, and it made shame and repulsion for himself flare in the pit of his stomach. He had turned into those guys he had hated with a passion at Camp Lehigh. Ever since he had woken up in 2011, he had fixated on the woman he once knew: His mind had stayed in 1943 while his body had left. The constant compass checking, the drive to not live a life outside one with her, was an unhealthy obsession, attributing her to a prize he had won, something to obtain instead of a real human being with feelings. 

Before they had gone back in time, he had thoughts about what staying in the past would do, how he could finally live a life with the woman he loved, but dancing with her now revealed a truth he had never wanted to unearth. Peggy had begun a life without him: she was more than just Captain America’s, more than Steve Roger’s, lover. She was her own person, with goals and desires, and she deserved every single bit of happiness she had gotten over the years. She had done what he couldn’t, move on without him, and he knew that this was the path she was meant to be on. She was a founder of SHIELD with a beautiful family at home and Steve knew in his heart that he wanted nothing more than for her to keep living her life with them, a life unaccompanied by him. He vowed to himself, here and now, that he was going to do better to not recede back into his old mindset, push himself to move on and start a life of his own, just as he knew she’d want him to do too. 

His promise to do better in mind, he refocused on the world around him and found she was still staring at him as he had gotten lost in thought. Not wanting to give away any of the emotions resonating in his heart, he focused his attention on her face and gave a loving smile, not for her looks, but for the woman she had become.

“You’re an amazing woman Peggy, a good woman at heart, always have been. I know Bucky would be honoured that both of you even tried so hard.”

She smiled back, a rogue tear cascading down her right cheek, which Steve brushed away tenderly, before she rested her body back into his, continuing to sway to the remaining seconds of Elvis’ song. When the last of its soft melody faded away, their emotions released from deep inside them dancing in the air, disappearing with the song, they wrapped up their dance and finally let go of each other. They would both be able to move on now, closure to whatever they had been back in 1943 coming 27 years late, but holding all the same meanings as it did back then.

Walking back over and turning off the radio, the silence echoing around the room so much louder after the sweet hum of the music that had filled the space the past minutes. Steve casually glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, and shit, he had spent much longer down here than he had intended. 

_Shit, Tony will have my ass for this._

“Listen, Peggy. I’m really sorry but I have to go.” 

She looked at him sadly, but with underlying understanding. They both new this couldn't last forever, no matter how hard Steve wished it could. Maybe that way he could avoid having any more run ins with the guards.

Actually, about that...

“I’ll need your help though, I'm kind of being hunted by security as we speak.” There was no way he could get out of here on his own now that security was actively looking for his face to appear around any corner. 

Her sadness shifted to annoyance at his predicament, giving him a pointed look as she placed her hands on her hips, but the hint of a smile still didn’t leave her face.

“Of course you are,” she sighed, “Well, you’re going to need a cover story then. What do they know about you? Did you give yourself a name, Captain…?” she trailed off, waiting for him to fill in the blank.

“...Stevens.” Grimacing at what he was about to say, he involuntarily ducked down a bit in fear of the anticipated angry reaction from her. “And I kind of told someone I wasn’t exactly new here.”

“Of course you did! How very conspicuous of you Steve.” 

“I know, I know! She was just looking at me funny and it was the only thing that came to mind!” 

Setting her hands by her side, she stared at him as she tried to figure out a way to get him out of his mess. Drumming her fingers on her leg as she thought, she finally came up with a sort of plan to help him get out of the facility. Diving into it, they came up with a story of Steve visiting from another army base, on a project for his superiors, alongside his partner, Tony who had become a doctor in their story, in a top secret mission to gather intel. The more secretive they made it out to be the better as the less information they were ‘allowed’ to divulge played better to their predicament than making up a whole story and hoping people believed it. 

“God, I missed that brain of yours so much,” he breathed as they finished plotting out all the details. He couldn’t help it, strategizing with her again was taking him back to the days where they’d sit by the war table, covered in maps with their battalions and enemy troops, trying to figure out the best plays to secure a win for their men. 

She looked up and smirked. “I’ve missed you too. But come on, let’s hurry up and leave before someone finds you.” 

“Yes Ma’am,” he automatically responded, tipping his hat towards her playfully. Laughing she walked over to the door with Steve following closely behind. 

Opening it to leave, they were halted by a presence standing in their way, his hand poised and ready to knock on the now open door. He was about 5’9 with a medium build, his skin pale from working inside all the time on the long shifts Steve knew he had to work as a security guard. He was decked out in a dull beige uniform, a skinny black leather belt with a silver buckle around his waist while he had a similarly made black leather strap across his chest and over his left shoulder, attaching his gun to his right hip. On his other hip was a stun cane holstered to his belt, ready for any threat that came up in the highly secured building. Moving his eyes up, he saw the army green shirt tucked in beneath his beige uniform and a white cap on his head, fitted with a small gold emblem of the SHIELD logo in the middle, the bill of the hat completely black. 

He seemed shocked that the door had opened before he could even knock, keeping his hand hovering in mid air before he recovered and brought it back down to his side, stuttering as he tried to explain his presence at her office door. 

“D-Director Carter! I was just about to knock, but you-” He cut himself off at the resounding glare Peggy shot his way. “Right, so sorry to intrude ma’am, but a full sweep of the compound has been issued. Two suspicious-looking men were spotted riding the elevator down about fifteen minutes ago and who knows what they could’ve gotten into since then. Agent Francis was the one who ID’d them, saying that one was a hippie-type with a Mungo Jerry beard, but you know how she is with faces so it could be more on the Bee Gees side…” He rambled, which Steve could see was annoying Peggy further as he continued to take up their time, but his reason for being there made Steve tense in panic. If that Agent Francis had gotten a good look at him earlier it was all over for them.

“Your _point,_ Chesler?”

Shooting her an apologetic smile as he realized he got off track, Chesler moved on, giving her the information she needed to know. 

“Yes ma’am, sorry again, but as for the second man she was making him out to be quite the specimen. Very tall, dazzling blue eyes which I’m sure aren’t all that dazzling, and a hat that covered most of his face, so I really don’t know where she got that idea from. However, and this is strangely vague, she said that there was something familiar about him.”

Steve’s heart sunk as the man described his face, in oddly specific detail, as the fact that he was standing _right there_ in front of him did not bode well with his chances of a peaceful escape. 

Before Peggy could even respond, presumably in some convincing manner she was always capable of pulling out when she needed to, the man looked up at Steve for the first time since they had opened the door and gaped at him in surprise, moving his hand to clutch the gun strapped to his hip. “My god, that’s him! It has to be! Director, stand back, this man could be very dangerous!”

“Are you referring to _Captain_ Stevens here, Chesler?” Peggy accused before trying to move the conversation in a different direction, one that had less of Steve in it. “I do suppose that you don’t have the clearance level to know who he is…”

He looked confused at the remark, hand slowly lowering from its position on the hilt of the gun. “Are you saying you _know_ this man?”

“Yes, of course I know him! He’s part of a top secret division working on something called ‘Project STONES.” She explained breezily, keeping her cool under the man’s watchful eye. 

Steve had been the one to suggest the project name as it was the mission he was currently on, so it wasn’t too far off the mark for what he was doing here. He hadn’t told her why though, even when she had questioned the odd name choice, brushing it off and moving on to the next topic of their plan to get him out of there instead. 

Peggy continued, further trying to convince the agent that everything made sense. “And he’s here to gather intel with his associate, uh…” Looking at Steve in panic, he realized they hadn’t given Tony a name. Steve rushed to fill in the blank so the other agent wouldn’t get even more suspicious of the problematic situation Steve had created for himself and now Peggy. 

“Doctor S-Potts” he declared awkwardly, about to give Tony’s real last name before he realized that Howard would be renowned here and bringing up the Stark name would definitely raise alarm bells they couldn’t afford. 

“Doctor Spots, huh? Maybe old Francis wasn’t too far off the mark, sounds like a hippie to me. But that still doesn’t explain why security can’t pin them; why wouldn’t someone so important check in before entering the base?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Realizing they had to change tactics before he sniffed them out, Peggy altered her approach, pulling rank in order to shut the man down, just as Steve had seen her do many times with men trying to intimidate her.

“Special agent Chesler, are you suggesting that I’m harbouring a fugitive in my office and going as far as _fabricating_ a story about who this man is?” 

As it had all those years before, this play seemed to have proved effective. Chesler’s eyes widened, his expression the one of a person who had just realized he had gone too far this time.

“No! That’s not what I meant at all! It’s just, excuse my boldness, but it does seem a little suspicious does it not?”

She crossed her arms definitively, shooting him a punitive look. “Not at all. This man here is a high ranking officer and part of his mission was to come in, undetected, to protect the integrity of his assignment. If you have a problem with this, I suggest you phone his superior and take it up with him. I will warn you though, I don’t believe his General will be particularly happy to know that people are questioning his men.” 

Chesler cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment and fear. “Of course not. I’m sorry I pushed the matter.” 

Internally sighing in relief, he saw Peggy relax her own shoulders, putting on a calmer tone of voice now that the crisis had been averted. 

“Not a problem Chelser, I know you’re just doing your job.” The man nodded in relief before turning to look at Steve once again.

“I know I might sound crazy, but I swear there’s something about you.”

Steve smiled uneasily, afraid that if he looked hard enough he'd come to the conclusion about who he was. 

“Don’t worry, I get that a lot.” he responded, pulling his hat further down to cover more of his face. 

Peggy reached out and put a hand on the man’s shoulder, taking control before Steve could screw up all the work she had just put in to clear his name. “Now Agent, if you’ll excuse us, we must be going. Captain Stevens has an important deadline to meet.”

“Yes, of course!” Stepping back into the hallway to let them pass, he addressed Steve one final time, trying to get back in his good books. “So sorry for the inconvenience, Captain, hope you make it in time for your top-secret affairs.”

“It’s no problem, really.” About to walk past him as well, something in the back of his mind made him pause and turn back to face the agent. Placing his left hand on the man’s right shoulder, he gave it a squeeze as he gave him a salut with his free hand. “At ease Agent, as you were.” 

Smirking as the man gave a clumsy salute back, he took his hand away and walked into the hallway behind Peggy. He couldn’t help but mess with the poor guy; the temptation of it all became too strong as he played into his role of “captain on a secret mission”. _Might as well have some fun while I’m here._ As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he realized how much that had sounded exactly like something someone else would do. _Guess Tony’s finally starting to rub off on me after all these years._

Chuckling, he saw that Peggy was farther ahead, so he sped up to match her pace. Coming up next to her, they walked quickly through the hallway, making sure to look like they were in a rush so no one would stop them, until they made it back to the elevator Steve had started this whole mess in. 

Jamming the up button with her finger, they anxiously waited for the doors to open. Praying that no one would join them, it seemed like they stood there for an eternity before the doors finally dinged and slid open, revealing an empty carriage. Both of them darted inside without a moment to spare, Steve immediately holding the close doors button to make sure no one could jump in behind them. 

Watching the doors shut, Peggy immediately pressed the button for the street level and they shot upwards, finally on their way to freedom after such a close call. Both taking in the short peace knowing they were safe, they stood in a comfortable silence until they felt the jolt of the elevator as it stopped, the doors opened and sunlight flooded in, causing both himself and Peggy to shield their eyes after spending so long under the dim fluorescent lights of the compound.

Walking into the dirt yard, their eyes finally adjusted, allowing them to see their surroundings clearly. They continued through the many military vehicles and equipment, Steve taking all of it and the familiarity of bright him in, until they finally spotted Tony standing with another older man, flowers held in his arms, amidst the other workers milling about. 

Stopping behind a military jeep, they made sure they were out of view as they watched him, Steve waiting for the right moment to signal to Tony that they were in the clear. He almost didn’t believe his own eyes, however, when he saw Tony _hug_ the man he was with. Watching the scene more closely it became apparent as to what was happening. Tony was with _Howard._ Just like Steve, he had found the one person that he needed closure with and based on what Steve had just seen, Tony had gotten it.

Watching to see what else was going to happen, he saw Tony quickly let go, the two men exchanging a quick goodbye as Tony handed back the flowers. Tony watched as his father left, getting into a black limo, leaving him standing there alone, silver briefcase in hand. _That must be the Tesseract._ It put his mind at ease knowing they had both gotten what they needed, their plan to bring everyone back no longer in jeopardy. 

“That’s definitely Bee Gees, damn it Gloria.” Peggy suddenly muttered, glaring over at where Tony was standing. Steve looked at her in concern, not understanding the significance of the statement. She turned her gaze away from Tony and back toward Steve, sighing when she saw the look he was giving her. 

“Gloria Francis is one of our brightest minds, she can solve any math equation you put in front of her, but bloody hell, she can’t place a face to save her life. It’s the only thing that stood between her getting promoted to a field agent.” She chuckled, giving Steve a small smile, “Reminds me a bit of you.” 

Steve just tilted his head and took in her face as a response, a pained smile lining his features. _God, I’m going to miss her._ He knew it was finally time to leave, both he and Tony had to get back to the compound before something else went wrong with the plan. 

She didn’t understand his sudden mood change at first, but her face slowly shifted into comprehension, his pained smile mirroring onto her face as she understood what was about to happen. 

“You’ve got to leave now, right?” The disappointment was evident in her voice. They had lived something good here, but it was time for them to go their separate ways again. 

He nodded sullenly, hating that he had to abandon her once again, but forcing himself to remember that this time was different. Instead of leaving as lost lovers, they were leaving as friends and Peggy had a wonderful family to get back to. 

“I’m sorry, Peg, I really am.” Her smile changed into something happier, a kind of proud undertone surfacing on her face.

“The moment I saw you in my office, I knew you couldn’t stay. I’m just glad we got the time that we did.” She stared at him until he realized they still weren’t moving, both wanting to stay in the moment forever. 

Clearing her throat, Peggy looked down for a moment before giving him an understanding smile. “Now come on, go be a hero!” 

And there it was, his permission to go... but he couldn’t leave it there. He needed one last proper good-bye before his heart could be put at ease; to not leave his mind racing with thoughts of her. 

Reaching down, he wrapped her in a big hug, pulling her into him one last time. He felt her arms wrap around his waist tightly as she squeezed back, savouring their last chance to hold each other tight. 

However, as he let her go, she surprised him by pulling him in for a quick kiss. Breaking apart, she smiled softly before playfully pushing him away, a tear rolling down her pale cheek. Steve knew it wasn’t a gesture between two lovers; rather, it was a goodbye not only to the moment now, but also to the finality of the romance they had once shared. It was the seal to close off that chapter of their lives and a symbol to move on.

“Goodbye Steve.” 

“Goodbye Peggy.” 

With that she turned and walked away, not even pausing to turn back around to look at him. 

Watching her back disappear around one of the military vehicles and out of sight, he rubbed his hands over his face, brushing away his own tears that had come to his eyes, before finally turning around in an attempt to find Tony again. 

Surprisingly he found him standing in the same place, watching Steve with a glum expression. Seeing that Steve was now facing him, however, made his tune change as he immediately shifted to his normal self, waggling his eyebrows at what he had just witnessed between the two. Rolling his eyes Steve marched over to him, not letting him get the first word in.

“Are you ready to go?” Steve demanded, trying to put a stop to the mockery he knew would surely be coming his way before it even started.

“ _I’m_ ready,” he replied, holding up the briefcase with the Tesseract in it for show. “But are _you_? You sure you don’t want to go back for round two?” Steve scowled and stayed silent, knowing he was referring to the kiss he and Peggy had just shared. 

Tony chuckled at Steve’s annoyed silence. “No? Okay, just checking.” 

Glancing around, Tony made sure no one could see them, before activating his suit so they could finally head back home. Doing the same, Steve put in the coordinates for home and made sure Tony was good to go. Meeting his eyes and nodding, Tony returned the gesture, before they pressed their buttons at the same time to return back to 2023. The last thing Steve felt was the dirt of the Army Base beneath his feet before there was nothing but air, their bodies shrinking into the quantum realm as they returned at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed feel free to leave a like or a comment. That would be pretty awesome! We'll be posting a new chapter every Wednesday...starting now. (We promise! XD) 
> 
> Also, we do not own either of the songs used in the chapter. "It's Been A long, Long Time" belongs to Harry James and "It's Now or Never" belongs to Elvis Presley.


	4. Making Amends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're back lmao. We've decided to just post when we feel the time is right instead of a designated weekly upload. That'll probably make it so that more than one chapter is posted in a week. We're excited to share the story and hope that you guys enjoy it too! :D 
> 
> Be warned, this chapter has some minor swearing and a heated conversation. 
> 
> Also, this chapter has an element that makes it Not Infinity War Compliant, but that's only a minor scene.

_They marched in formation, their feet striking the ground in a rhythmic beat, everyone in sync both in mind and body as they headed towards the giant time machine Tony, Bruce, and Rocket had built. The massive circular platform was surrounded by many panels and wires, coming from all directions, which it used to supply its energy, enormous amounts of it needed to power the machine. Luckily, it hadn’t been too hard to get with Tony’s arc reactor power supporting the compound, as drawing from the regular power grid that supported the city would probably result in them dimming half of New York in their attempt to go back in time._

_Reaching the platform, their footfalls making the room fill with a series of metallic clacks echoing off the walls as the group ascended the ramp, they formed a circle around its circumference, all nine of them facing each other. Bruce was still on the ground getting the machine ready to go. He was the only other person aside from Tony that knew how to use it, allowing each of them to mentally prepare for their daunting task._

_Steve knew everyone was uptight, the pressure behind each of their individual missions weighing on them all, so he decided to give them a speech to leave them with encouraging words before they all set off to different places and times within the universe. Motivation was the one thing he knew that united people together as one, a good speech always getting the cadets fired up and ready for anything in his military days, so he figured with everything going on now, a sense of purpose might be the very thing they needed to get them through this stressful mission._

_“Five years ago, we lost,” he started loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “All of us.” He scanned the room of people around him, seeing the looks on their faces and knowing each of them was thinking of the day it had all gone down._

_“We lost friends. We lost family.” His own mind began drifting to Bucky, the horrific image of him turning to dust in front of his very eyes. Shaking the mental image, he cleared his throat to continue._

_“We lost a part of ourselves, but today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams; you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back.”_

_He moved in closer as he spoke, watching as everyone followed his move, so they were in a tighter circle allowing everyone to connect with the person next to them better. He continued, looking at everyone individually, feeling the connection build between them as they all set off with the same goal in mind._

_“One round-trip each. No mistakes… no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, but that doesn’t mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives… and we’re going to win.”_

_Tony, who was standing next to him on his right, tilted his head to face Steve with one eyebrow raised in what Steve could see was a passing message between friends. They had known each other for eleven years and were now gearing up for one of the most important missions of their lives, a far cry from the days of not knowing how to work as a team: Tony’s ‘I have a plan- attack’ from right after they had first met springing into his mind._

_He met Tony’s confident stare, drawing himself up to his full height as he prompted Tony to speak his last words with a small nod, eye contact never wavering between the two. Tony gave him a soft smile and returned the nod, looking down for a beat before he brought his eyes back to Steve’s._

_“Whatever it takes.”_

_With the corners of his mouth turning up in an affirmative smile, Steve turned to address the whole group again. “Good luck everyone.”_

_Everyone seemed ready, adrenaline buzzing in the air as time got closer to the start of it all. He glanced over at Scott, standing next to Tony, and saw the enthusiasm on his face, looking around the group of people to see if anyone else was as surprised as him._

_“Hey, he’s pretty good at that!” he exclaimed to no one in particular._

_Tony just scoffed, never one to give in to Scott’s obsession with Steve. This ultimately backfired on him, however, as Scott turned to look at him, advice on his small contribution ready to go. “You could work on it a bit though,” he hummed, turning away before Tony could even respond._

_Steve swore he could see Tony sizing up Scott, plotting a way to dispose of the body so that the team would not notice, but he must have deemed it not worth his while as he simply turned around and started herding the group into position._

_“All right, you heard the man!” he called out, voice echoing off of the high ceiling. “Stroke those keys, Jolly Green!” The last part was addressed to Bruce, now permanently in his hulking green form, as he continued to set everything up for them on the floor below._

_As everyone else got in position next to the people they were going on their missions with, Steve sided up with Tony as they waited for Bruce to finish and join them._

_Tapping in the last bit of information, he gave the numbers one last look before making his way up the ramp, completing the circle of heroes waiting to delve into the world of Quantum time travel. Glancing at everyone around him, Steve couldn’t help but think about how much it looked like they were all about to board a rocket to the moon. Donning the mainly white Quantum suits Tony had specifically made for each of them, they looked more like extras in a music video than people on a mission of a lifetime. Laughing at the fact inwardly, he kept a stoic look on his face as he prepared to be sent back in time._

_They all heard the signifying beep as Bruce activated the time machine remotely, all of them tensing as they knew what it meant._

_“See you in a minute,” Natasha joked looking at Steve, an easy smile on her face as she bounced back and forth on her toes._

_He smirked back, both at her energy and at the choice of words. He had actually been the first person to ever say that phrase, the two of them being on an Avengers mission in Bolivia before the Accords, saying it jokingly when they had to split up to uncover the terrorist cells they were tracking but coming back to find her sporting a smirk and a stopwatch which read fifteen and a half minutes. It had then become a running gag, both of them keeping track of the other’s absence and competing to see who could make it to the one minute mark first. So far it was a total of two minutes and thirty-three seconds, Nat having secured that victory after jumping the guard which had been blocking their way into an illegal underground weapons facility in Moscow, one of their undercover missions while on the run from the government._

_The two of them had really come a long way, hadn’t they? From meeting for the first time on the helicarrier, their time as fugitives, to traversing space on a manhunt to kill Thanos, she had been with him through it all and he was grateful she was by his side._

_With that thought in mind, they all secured their helmets on their head and felt the giant machine above them come to life, its many circular discs circulating above before they set in place, giving no warning before they fired and making everyone disappear in an instant, their last chance at bringing everyone back finally set in motion._

_\--_

A minute. That’s all it had taken to rip everything away from them. 

While it had been much longer for them, in reality only seconds had passed on earth as they returned, stones in hand and hope in their hearts. The moment they had arrived though, something had felt wrong and their biggest fear for the mission had been confirmed: Natasha hadn’t made it. 

He chuckled to himself darkly, bitter as he looked around the room he was currently residing on a couch in; it was the very room they had brainstormed the mission that had gotten her killed. He wasn’t alone, however, as Tony was sitting in front of a hologram at the long table closer to the entrance to the room, deep in thought as he came up with the blueprints for the new gauntlet they would need to harness the power of the stones as Thanos’ was long gone. The thought of the stones sent burning anger throughout him, making him run his hands through his hair in pent up frustration. Sitting back against the couch, more aggressively than he had intended, making a loud thud as his back collided with it, he rested his neck on its curved back and stared at the ceiling.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

After everything they had gone through together, they were supposed to come out of this one alive. What had Tony said when he joined the team? ‘And not die trying would be nice’? Steve snorted. _What a load of crap that had been._ He wasn’t angry at Tony for saying it, more angry at the world for letting it come true. Natasha was dead and there was nothing they could do about it. It was such a hard thought to process. Having known her for so many years, he had seen her turn from just another spy into something a lot deeper, a person who really cared for her team. 

On top of their new in-joke, Steve had really gotten to know her during their two years on the run; the countless nights they had just spent talking as they flew from place to place, helping out wherever there was trouble, staying under the radar of course, but also making sure they were never in on place for two long in order to not be found. It had been these instances that had allowed them to become closer, become actual friends. She had learned to trust him more and in doing so allowed herself to open up. She’d tell him about the Red Room, her past life as a Russian spy, meeting Clint, joining SHIELD and the life she had left after that. In turn, Steve had been able to tell her about his life before the serum, what he had done during the war, and his thoughts about the world now, and how much he felt like he didn’t belong. 

After the snap, they had kept up this relationship as everyone else was either gone, both from the snap and on the many assignments needed to keep the world in order, or living their own lives away from the tolls of the superhero life. They had still held on, wanting nothing more than to help get things back to normal, but even then it was hard to keep their grip when the whole world just wanted to let go and move on, and Steve almost lost sight of why they even bothered to keep the Avengers together. But this, this had been proof that everything wasn’t for nothing, that Nat’s hope for a brighter tomorrow was going to pay off. 

It broke his heart to think about. Natasha wanted nothing more than to go back to how it was before. Live in a world where their friends and loved ones were there once again. But now, she would never get to see that. 

Running his hands over his face, Steve held his breath and let it out all at once. He couldn’t let his sorrow take over. She hadn’t just died, she had sacrificed herself so they could live. Nat had made the bravest choice you could make. She had given up her life so that they could have theirs, so that they could experience the world in its full glory again. He respected her decision and knew it was one he couldn’t fault. He had done the exact same thing 80 years prior. When it came down to it, they were all ready to put their lives on the line if it meant saving the world and that was a fact of life Steve was going to have to accept, even if it meant losing his closest friend in the process. He was determined to make it worth it though. Her sacrifice would be upheld in their actions.

He sat up, rolling his neck to get any last tension in his body out. This was finally it. They were going to undo what Thanos had done and finally set things right. They would restore much needed balance back to the universe. He was determined to make it happen: Her death would not be in vain. 

Tony suddenly spoke up, causing Steve to look over in surprise as the silence between them was finally broken. Steve had been in here for ten minutes before Tony had come in and started to flit around with his holograms, not giving him any sort of acknowledgement other than a simple nod as he walked through the doors. That had been half an hour ago and Steve hadn’t actually expected Tony to speak at all. 

“I can hear the gears turning in that head of yours all the way over here.” 

Watching the man in front of him, he could see that he hadn’t even turned to look at him as he spoke, continuing to put all of his focus in the blueprints hovering in front of him. It looked like he was getting somewhere with it too, an almost fully rendered design hovering over the wooden table below. 

“I’ve got a lot on my mind I guess.” He didn’t know how to talk with Tony anymore, the history they had kept a wall between them when they weren’t on a mission or in battle. 

Tony still didn’t turn, but Steve could see his response in the way his body drooped, like the force that was holding him together had left, leaving a hollow shell behind. _‘I’m thinking about her too.’_

He finally turned to look Steve in the eyes, sadness but also underlying anger clouding his features as he figured out what Steve had meant. “She was my friend just as much as yours. Well, before you both went all Jason Bourne on me that is.” 

Steve watched him closely, not knowing what to say. It always came back to this with them. The moment he had chosen Bucky over Tony. If he had the chance he would still do the same, protect Bucky no matter what, but go about it in a different way, one that didn’t drive this giant wedge between them. Maybe even tell Tony about his parents before it went as far as it did. Give him time to come to terms with the horrific news before he had to face Bucky directly. 

Not wanting to get into that now as he knew a fight would ensue, he gave a sympathetic reply, not wanting to push Tony’s buttons while he was in the process of working on something so important. 

“I know Tony, I’m not taking that away from you.” 

Tony just narrowed his eyes, looking like he was going to argue, but decided against it and went back to his work in front of him. Steve was tired of all the silence. He wanted things to get better between them, so in an effort to mend the gap, he figured he should ask about what Tony was currently doing and hopefully get a more in-depth conversation out of him from it.

He stood up from the couch and walked over, checking over the designs before asking his question. It all looked like a bunch of nonsense to him, the only clear thing on the screen being the obvious outline of the gauntlet itself, projected in a dark blue hologram as Tony carefully constructed its design. 

“How’s the gauntlet building process going?” 

Tony sighed, looking so much older in the moment as the stress of the situation weighed on him. “It’s something alright. I’m having difficulties finding the right materials to make something that can actually withhold the power of six stones.” He spun the design as he spoke, stepping back and putting his right arm over his chest and his left hand on his chin as he watched it go around, trying to work out the correct configuration to ensure it worked. 

It was all overwhelming to Steve. He had just barely learned how to set the thermostat in this place, let alone worry about how to build a gauntlet that could hold six glowing stones from space. “Yeah, that seems like quite the task you’ve got there. God knows I wouldn’t have the first clue of where to even start,” he joked, trying to bring the mood up. Tony gave him a sideways look, one eyebrow quirked and a sly grin on his face. 

“What are you so happy about?” he asked, suspicious. Nothing but trouble usually followed that look from him.

“I seem to recall a certain conversation to mind. What was said again? Something along the lines of ‘It seems to run on some form of electricity’ if I’m not mistaken?” he chuckled, fully knowing that he was right, and enjoying poking fun at Steve’s poor attempts to gain traction in the world, so not used to any of the things society now had to offer. 

Steve gave an exasperated sigh, glaring at Tony, but inwardly he was enjoying the banter. If it meant Tony was talking to him, he’d listen to the jabs any day. 

“Will you guys ever not remind me of every mistake I make?” He knew the answer before he had even asked.

“When you stop making them, we’ll stop reminding you.” Tony quickly supplied, a smile still gracing his face.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. I get it. I’m the man out of time. Make fun of me all you want.”

Tony didn’t let up, keeping the charade going. “Glad to know we’re on the same page.” 

Steve shook his head in amusement, deciding to change the subject to the more pressing issues at hand. 

“Where’d you even get a how-to guide for the gauntlet?” He was curious to know, as he assumed the other gauntlet had been made somewhere in space for Thanos before he arrived on Earth to collect his prizes. 

“Thor,” Tony supplied, straight back to work after their brief fun, eyes pointed ahead again as his hands continued to initiate the electronic commands putting the gauntlet’s design together. 

“After much nagging and coaxing on my part, he still wouldn’t budge. Seemed thoroughly petrified at the notion of talking through it, really. Took a few Bloody Mary’s later, for him obviously, to get any actual information out. But it was all for moot. I did all that just to be told it’s as unobtainable as his fancy new murder toy. Made in the same place actually: the heart of a dying star.”

Steve’s brain hurt just trying to conjure the mental image tied to those words. “Excuse me?”

“My thoughts exactly! And it gets even better: Apparently, it’s yet another product of mystic space metal, forged by a race of intergalactic giant-dwarves, all but one of whom were killed by Thanos. The forge was out of commission until our favourite caped wonder paid a visit and restarted it long enough to get his axe, going for an extreme sunbathing session and nearly dying in the process.” 

He paused, tilting his head in realization before looking at Steve, a comprehensive look on his face. “I think I finally got it. No wonder those Asgardians are so damn melodramatic. I mean, I would be too if that was just considered a regular Tuesday.” 

_Mystic space metal- giant dwarves- extreme sunbathing… What???_

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, his mind tussling with itself over the concepts it suddenly had to wrap around. He had seen a lot since coming out of the ice, fought alien wars and been yanked back and forth in time, but this absurd bit of information took the cake. It was almost too much to think about everything that was going on around them.

_The heart of a dying star? A race of giant dwarves that made weapons for the likes of gods?_

He was definitely a long way from the days filled with thoughts of human war and fighting for his country. The world had seemed so much smaller back then, so much easier to control. But now, the whole universe was in their hands and it was all too overwhelming. He may not look the part, but deep down was a scrawny boy from Brooklyn, fighting to get through life. He pushed those thoughts aside though, hiding them away so he didn’t have to deal with their consequences right now. Instead, he chose to focus on the one thing he had understood. 

“Favourite caped wonder, huh? Vision would be disappointed in you Tony.” 

Tony paused in surprise, lowering his hands and turning to fully face Steve, lips pressed together in disappointment. “That’s your takeaway from all this?” 

Disappointment quickly turned into something more foreboding for Steve as excitement entered Tony’s eyes, causing them to light up in a way that Steve had only seen a few times before, one instance being the party before Ultron’s attack on the tower. It meant that Tony was actually happy, enjoying himself for once, instead of his normal stoic exterior. “Well, I suppose your frosty brain couldn’t manage the more fantastical elements anyway.”

Steve straightened to his full height, putting on a play of mock annoyance at the comment. “Are you calling me old, Stark?”

“Oh you ‘understood that reference’ did you Rogers?” Gauntlet fully forgotten, he knew Tony was just warming up, his frivolous rivalry with Steve a well known favourite pastime for him. 

Steve groaned, wishing he had learned to just keep his mouth shut. “Can a man say anything around here? No one ever lets me live anything down!” He wasn’t going to let Tony have the last word though. _Two can play at this game._

“Maybe if you actually learned a thing or two about the 21st century we wouldn’t have the chance, hey grandpa?” 

_Oh, it’s on._

“Please Tony, if anyone here is closer to being a grandpa, it's you. You are, after all, the only father in the room.” Steve looked around dramatically at the empty room around them as he spoke, drilling his point in further.

Tony looked stricken, his eyes bulging at the very premise of Morgan having her own kids one day. “Nuh-uh, don’t you even go there, Captain!” he warned, giving Steve a scathing look for even suggesting such a thing. “At this point I can barely fathom the day Morgan brings home a boy, let alone a baby. Just let her be my little girl for a while longer, yeah?” He seemed genuinely distressed at the thought so Steve let it go, not wanting to add any additional tension to Tony’s life. 

“Fair enough.”

Tony blew out a shuddering breath before he met Steve’s eyes and cracked a wide smile, surely recognizing how absurd his reaction had just been. 

“Man, I’m already turning into that overprotective dad who annoys the crap out of their daughter and she’s only _four_.” 

Steve just smiled kindly at him, truly happy that Tony had found peace in his life and started a family. For a happy moment Tony just smiled back, his eyes bright and playful, but then something else entered, his eyes suddenly growing distant as the light faded, a much darker emotion twisting his expression. Steve’s mouth went dry, wondering for what seemed like the millionth time about what was going on in that brain of his. There was always so much hidden beneath the surface when it came to Tony, making it so difficult to say how such a light conversation had taken him to that dark place.

He was about to say something when Tony snapped back to reality, immediately flitting away from him and back to the controls of his hologram. The breath Steve didn’t know he was holding came in a drawn-out huff, feeling a resigned frustration with the man. He should have known by now that Tony never wanted to talk about his demons. All those looks filled with anger and jealousy were never addressed and remained hanging between them, forcing them apart like an ever-growing chasm. Sometimes Steve tried throwing him a rope, giving Tony the opportunity to open up and bridge the gap, but his offers were always left hanging. Direct communication was just not something they did. 

Slumping into an empty armchair nearby, forgoing the couch this time, Steve reached out to grab the newspaper resting on the neighbouring table. It was the one from the other day that he had already scoured from front to back, drawing little comics in the margins and poking fun at the helplessness every word seemed to be perpetuating, but he needed something to take his mind off of his current situation. Newspapers had been one of his few constants in life, something that had followed him in and out of the ice and brought him a feeling which resembled comfort. In an age where so much was hidden from the public, whether it be endless texts behind a digital screen or an old Nazi regime behind what was supposed to be an air-tight peacekeeping force, it felt good to have something tangible that he could see all the sides and angles of. Here, everything was laid bare and not afraid to question the dark and dingy aspects of the world. It was an article from a simpler time, a time that Steve could briefly return to as he flipped through its pages.

This was also the reason he preferred flip phones over cellular ones. It was too easy to get lost in there, to get bogged down in the endless gory details and forget what was important. He had left one of these such phones with Tony after their fight in Siberia, hoping to remind him of this, but the call hadn’t gone as expected.

_It was just past 7pm as Steve and Natasha were flying over Russia, having just completed a small combat mission she had been notified of through her previous contacts there. It had essentially been a peacekeeping mission, nothing too strenuous happening as they intervened. Having finished, they had gotten back on their plane to head towards Scotland where they had dropped Wanda off a few days prior to spend time with Vision. While they knew Vision was on Tony’s side, they also knew he wouldn’t give their position away. All he wanted was time with Wanda and how was Steve supposed to say no to that? If someone gave him that chance with Peggy, he’d have taken it in a heartbeat._

_Checking in with Nat who was currently at the wheel, he saw she was doing fine. Turning to go check on Sam, who had passed out after taking a blow to the head from a particularly rowdy citizen they were trying to help just over an hour ago, a buzzing sound from nearby caught his attention. Confused at what it was, he initially didn’t move, trying to figure it out. Suddenly, it hit him at once, the realization of what that noise meant making the world spin around him, his vision blurring momentarily before it went back to normal._

_No one else had his number except...Tony_ **_._ **

_Leaping towards his bag off to the side of the jet, he quickly dug through it trying to locate the phone before it stopped ringing. He vaguely heard Nat asking what was wrong in the background, but he was too focused to respond. Finally locating the small object in his bag, throwing all of its contents on the floor in the process, he whipped open the flip phone and stared at the name on the screen, his heart sinking as it was conformed._ **Tony Stark** _was currently on the lit up screen, casting a blue glow on his face in the dark._

_Wasting no more time, he spun around and faced Nat with a panicked look on his face. If Tony was calling him, it couldn’t be good. He saw that she was about to question him again, but stopped as he answered the phone, answering her unspoken thought._

_“Tony?” he yelped, not knowing what was going to meet him on the other side of the phone._

_“Steve-” Tony only got one word out before he was interrupted, not giving Steve nearly enough time to figure out what was going on._

_“Tony, what’s happening?” he asked, more desperately this time, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach._ **_Something was horribly wrong._ **

_Tony didn’t respond. The only reason Steve knew he hadn’t hung up was the background noise. All he could hear was the sound of whistling wind over the phones speakers, faint at first but then full force as Tony must have walked outside. As the wind grew stronger, Steve began to hear different sounds: Sirens and screams could be heard in the distance. Something was going on in New York. He was about to call Tony’s name again when all of a sudden he heard a commotion over the line._

_“Get off of me!” A woman yelled, clearly in distress._

_“Hey, woah, calm down. It’s okay!” he heard Tony’s faint voice sooth._

_That was the last thing he heard before a sudden thud and consequent clattering noise followed. All Steve could hear now was the faint screams as people were seemingly running by wherever the phone was._

_“Tony! Tony, can you hear me? Tony, what’s going on!”_

_He kept yelling his name, clutching onto the hope that he would pick up and tell Steve it was all a joke, that he was just getting him back for what he had done. But he knew that wasn’t the case. Tony wouldn’t do that and he certainly wouldn’t have called unless it was an actual emergency._

_Turning to Nat he made a decision. “We need to get to Scotland. Now.”_

_She nodded before turning around and engaging the extra thrusters, sending them faster in the sky. If something was going on they needed to get to Wanda and Vision before something happened to them too._

_Steve stood there for what felt like ages, not willing to hang up the phone until he knew everything was alright. The screams had long since faded, leaving him with an ominous silence that was almost worse; he had no idea what was happening now. Standing there for a few more minutes, he finally heard frantic footsteps growing closer in the distance. He started shouting again, hoping that it was Tony coming back to retrieve the forgotten phone._

_“Tony! Is anybody there? Tony!!” His breath hitched as he heard the phone being picked up._

_“Oh my God, Tony! What’s going on?” he immediately questioned, not letting the person on the other end speak._

_“_ **_Steve?_ ** _” he heard the voice ask in utter astonishment._

 _“_ **_Bruce?_ ** _” he mirrored back, completely thrown off by the voice of the person they had thought was gone forever._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Nat snap around, a stricken look on her face at the mention of Bruce’s name. Steve could only give her a confused look back, not having any idea what he could even say. She turned back around to focus on flying the plane, but Steve could see through her posture that she was listening to every word he spoke over the phone._

_“Man, am I glad to hear your voice Steve!”_

_“What the hell is going on Bruce? Where did you even come from? You’ve been missing for years! And on top of that, Tony called me and didn’t even get to say anything before he was interrupted!”_

_“It’s Thanos!” he yelled, heavy panic in his voice. He didn’t even respond to where he had been, too focused on telling Steve what was going on. “He’s coming and he’s looking for the stones! His freak show puppets took Tony and Strange on their ship and left for space! They’re gone!” He rambled, extremely shaken by what had just happened._

_“Thanos? What are you talking about? What do you mean Tony’s gone?” He was so confused, not understanding a word Bruce had just said._

_“He’s gone Steve! Thanos’ henchmen took him to space in a giant ring ship! Tony isn’t on Earth anymore!”_

Looking at the very man in question now, it made him realize how crazy that moment had really been. When Bruce had told him that he had had no idea what to think. Never in his life would he have guessed it would have ended the way it did. They had lost and half their family had been taken with it. 

Steve sighed, the impact of everything still heavily on top of his, and everyone else’s, shoulders. Now Natasha was gone and there was nothing they could do about it. The entirety of the whole situation was majorly fucked up-and Steve didn’t use that language very often. He felt it was warranted here, though, no better way to put the situation at hand.

“Vision was always important to me, by the way,” came Tony’s voice again, filling the silence and startling Steve out of his head. 

His head shot up so quickly in surprise that it kinked, making him wince as he massaged the muscle he had just pulled in his neck, and found himself to be staring at Tony’s back once more. It didn’t seem like he had even turned around to speak to him, a pattern Steve was steadily noticing. 

“Even after he became a heartthrob and almost blew my best friend to Kingdom come.”

Guilt struck Steve’s heart. No matter what it had seemed like, he had never wanted anyone to get hurt. What had happened to Rhodey was a terrible accident and had kept them up for days after, hitting Sam the hardest of them all. He had moped for so long after that, as he felt terrible that his friend had gotten hurt in the line of fire meant for him. He could remember the many conversations he had with Sam about the blame not being on him. It was an accident and even Steve knew that Rhodey wouldn’t hold it against any of them, no matter if they deserved his anger or not. He tried to get this point across to Tony, putting as much sincerity into his words as possible.

“Sam told me about what happened to Rhodey; he was really torn up about it. I wish it never happened, Tony. I really do.”

He knew he had said the wrong words the moment they left his mouth. Tony’s back tensed, muscled pulling against his black long sleeve, while his hands, hovering in the air as he continued working on his schematics, clenched into tight fists, visibly shaking with suppressed rage. 

Steve thought he was about to explode on him, but watched cautiously as Tony visibly relaxed, forcing himself to take a deep breath before he continued working again.

“Sure,” he replied tightly, the anger laden in the response. 

A heavy silence fell between them after Tony’s angry remark. Steve didn’t know what to say and Tony didn’t look like he was in any mood to talk, his back still facing Steve as he continued to work. He was about to speak, tell Tony he should better go get his stuff in order in an attempt to give the man space, when Tony beat him to it, deciding to delve further into his life after all.

“Vision means a lot more to me than you’d think.” He finally stopped what he was doing to turn around and talk to Steve face to face, his anger still there, but now mixed with sadness which was threatening to leave the anger behind.

“I put JARVIS in him, let that piece of my life go, because I knew he was the only thing that could stop Ultron. I had full faith in his abilities; not once since the very first day I created him, all the way back in the summer of 1993, did he let me down.” 

Tony sucked in a breath, rubbing his hand over his mouth like he did when he was stressed or letting things go that he normally didn’t. Steve figured it was a way to hide his face and give him something to let his nervous energy out, allowing him to push through emotions he normally didn’t like to bring up. 

He continued, nodded at his collected thoughts before he spoke again. “He saved my ass more times than I can count. With everything from help in combat to assisting me in creating a new element to power my arc reactor core. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be here without him- both of them, actually. I named him after someone that meant a lot to me, so it wasn’t an easy decision to let him go. Had to happen though, right?” he directed to Steve bitterly, a scowl on his face. “Someone’s got to save the world.” 

Steve understood the bite to his words. He felt that way too, sometimes. The constant feeling that it was their duty, and theirs alone, to save the world: keep it from descending into chaos. But it wasn’t an easy job and there had been many instances where Steve had wanted to turn a blind eye, even more so after the events of the Sokovia Accords. That whole fiasco had taught Steve more than he could ever know about right and wrong and what truly matters in life. 

The thought of it all just made him more eager to see their current plan through. Snap everyone back and return the stones, maybe even getting a chance at a normal life after. 

He looked back at Tony and saw that he was deep in thought, as well. Most likely thinking about the real man JARVIS had been named after, the man Peggy had brought up in the story about her husband and who he read about in Tony’s files when they had first met up to be a team. Steve knew that he must have taken the man's death hard. Who wouldn’t with the history that they had?

“Edwin Jarvis,” he provided, watching as Tony looked at him in surprise, not expecting Steve to know the man in which he was referring. “I read up on everyone’s files when we were first getting the team together,” he explained further when Tony gave him a questioning look. 

“Of course you did. Always the kid to do your homework while the rest of the class slacked off.”

While that might have been the case back then, Steve felt like he had a new perspective on life; a less intense approach that allowed him to sit back in situations instead of trying to have everything in his control. It was something he had worked on during his time on the run, being less controlling and trusting the process. It had been a big reason why he had decided to let Wanda visit Vision every once in a while. He wasn’t about to get into that with Tony though, so he decided to push the Jarvis conversation further, wanting to know more than the little information Tony’s file had given out. 

“He was your butler, right?” 

“Family friend. More family than friend, actually. The real Jarvis was a man of many tales. He started out as a soldier in the war, but everything changed when it put the love of his life, Ana, in danger. He loved her deeply; he was willing to do whatever needed to be done so they could live out their life together. She was Jewish, though, and that made life difficult enough for both of them, let alone the danger that her background held once her home country, Hungary, aligned itself with Nazi Germany.” He smirked humourlessly. “I can see where Vision picked up on that particular lure to the forbidden relationship, his love for Wanda burned just as bright.” 

He paused before growing sentimental. “I always thought Jarvis was the coolest person I had ever met. He would take me flying on the weekends from the day I turned five, showing me the ropes, and telling me stories of his days of being a pilot in the war. He was always there for me and after my parents died, after I lost my mom, I couldn’t bear to lose someone else so close to me. So, I decided that I was going to immortalize Jarvis in the A.I. system I was developing right after his death. It gave me a comfort to know that a part of him was still with me, even if it was just a program with his name.”

Tony leaned back as he spoke, his hands on the desk for support, staring at the wall in front of him instead of directly addressing Steve. While he knew the pain that Tony had dealt with growing up, his father always gone, he was happy to know that Tony had had at least one male support in his life during his childhood years. 

“I’m glad that you had someone like Jarvis to look out for you, Tony. I know how hard it is for a kid to grow up with his father always gone.” 

He had meant what he said, not trying to sound pompous or like he knew better. His own father had died before he was even born, taken away from him by mustard gas in World War I, so he knew firsthand what it was like without a father figure in the house. His mom had done her best raising him on her own, and he loved her deeply for it, but there was always that part of his life that was missing. 

It was this feeling he had been trying to share, but he saw that he had struck a chord in Tony instead, the anger that had been at bay while he talked about Jarvis firing once again. 

His words had a bite to them that they didn’t have before, their conversation taking another turn as Tony’s ever-present annoyance took control. “I bet your dad didn’t leave you by choice. Jarvis always told me that my dad was burdened with great knowledge: That he had a responsibility to share his knowledge with the world and that it was Jarvis’ job to ease the burden of it all in any way possible. Jarvis always said that he was talking about organizing dad’s files and keeping dust off the sofa, but deep down, I knew the truth: The real burden that needed easing had been, and always was, me.” 

He said it with authority, no hesitation to his words as he thought it to be true. It made Steve’s heart clench, the pain in the statement making his chest ache in empathy for the desolate childhood Tony had been raised in.

He winced before speaking, making a move to put a comforting hand on Tony’s shoulder, but paused and rethought the gesture as he knew Tony most likely wouldn’t be in the mood for sympathy, choosing to stay where he was instead. “Tony… that’s not true-”

He saw Tony’s nostrils flare, the blue veins in his neck sticking out, a stark contrast to his pale skin as he cut him off. “No? It was _Jarvis_ who came out to every game in my weird baseball bender of ’77, right before daddy dearest locked me away in boarding school. It was _Jarvis_ who congratulated me after my first time taking home the high school science fair trophy and all the consecutive times to follow. Sure, dad may have hung the photos in his office after the fact, but it was only to boast to his work friends about his ‘incredible son’ rather than actually being there in the moment to say it to my face. I will admit, he did some things right and I’ve chosen to hold them up above everything else, but that will never overshadow the fact that he did nothing better than absenteeism.” 

“Tony-” 

His feeble attempt to start to deescalate the situation was immediately terminated by Tony again.

“I don’t want to hear it Steve. You want to know why my dad was always gone? You. His life as a co-creator of SHIELD meant more to him than me, more than mom, and that’s something I can never forgive.” Steve cringed as the real anger started to bubble over, fire lighting up Tony’s eyes as he got into the root of it all. Steve involuntarily took a step back as Tony pushed off the table and moved toward him, an accusatory finger pointed at his chest as he continued to let his emotions show.

“Precious SHIELD. An acronym that clean-cut doesn't just _accidentally_ happen; take B.A.R.F. as the opposite point of reference. Do you really think I wanted my game-changing technology to be named after upchuck? No- it doesn’t take a genius to know that someone _wanted_ it to spell ‘shield’, and there’s a fifty-fifty guess as to who that was,” he spat, practically smoking from the mouth at the heat of his words.

Steve didn’t know if Tony actually wanted a response and based off of the shit his previous attempts had kicked up, he wisely decided to stay silent, letting Tony get everything out of his system instead.

Like Steve had figured, Tony continued, his fury long from being done. “I’ll give Peggy an even chance, I know how much she cares about you and I saw you two together during our blast to the past at Camp Lehigh, but my money’s on the man who actually _built_ the shield in reference.” 

He laughed hauntingly, a manic look coming over him as he crept closer to Steve. “You know, dead or alive you were able to take my father away from me. Whether in the form of an organization created in your honour or by the means of your best friend who murdered them in cold blood.” 

He purposefully brought up Bucky to piss Steve off, wanting to push his buttons and goad him into fighting back. It had worked; Steve’s blood beginning to boil the second Bucky’s name had crossed over his lips.

“Don’t you dare bring Bucky into this again,” he growled, walking closer to Tony, his lips curled in anger. “It wasn’t _him,_ it was the Winter Soldier. Bucky wasn’t in control of his mind! How many times do I have to go through this before it finally sticks in that bullheaded, supposedly brilliant brain of yours?” 

Tony scoffed, rolling his eyes before setting his glare back on Steve. “But he’s still your best friend, right? The one you ditched me to run off with? Practically left your shield in my chest as you walked away to live a better life without me- without the Avengers?” His voice raised further in pitch, reaching a height Steve had never heard from him before. It showed Steve had angry Tony truly was and the way he was finally letting his demons show. “It just goes to prove my point, yet another part of you that came back to unceremoniously bite me in the ass.” 

Steve was about to start spouting things back, things he would probably regret later on like the time he had told Tony he was nothing without his suit in their first argument on the Helicarrier, but he forced himself to rein it all in, taking a deep breath as he knew where Tony’s anger was coming from. He had done those things. He had abandoned their friendship and he knew the scar he had inflicted on Tony ran deep.

“You can be angry, I deserve it, I know I do, but you don’t need to bring Bucky into this. Yes, he’s my friend, but the things I did were my decision and mine alone.”

Tony stared at him for a few seconds before taking a deep breath himself, trying to bring his emotions down to a reasonable level. “You’re right. I’ve come to terms with what happened over the past five years, I understand that it wasn’t him in control and I’m sorry I brought it up, but goddamn if I’m not angry at you Steve. Of course it had to be connected to you! You’ve been tormenting me my whole life!” The anger was back at full force, this time entirely directed at Steve, the meat of the problems in their broken friendship coming out. 

“I couldn’t do a fucking _thing_ without my dad bringing up the great Captain America: The man who saved the nation!” He spat, repulsed with even the thought of it. “And that’s not even what hurts the most. You know what does? What makes me want to punch you in your stupid perfect teeth? It’s the fact that- after New York- after Vision- after _everything,_ I thought you actually _trusted_ me. That we were an actual _team._ ” 

Panic flared in Steve as he saw unshed tears pool in Tony’s eyes, his anguish with Steve finally seeing the light of day. “You kept the truth about my parents from me, why? You didn’t trust me to handle the information? Huh? You thought I’d go out on some type of twisted Bucky tracking operation to get my revenge? I get the need to protect your friend, I would want the same for Rhodey, but come on, I need a little faith in our friendship, especially when the truth was staring us straight in the face.” 

He began winding down, emotionally spent with everything that had been unleashed at once. “You lied to me and that’s why I’m pissed. And not only that, you lied and then left, abandoned me and everything we both once stood for, just like my dad.” 

Steve could see the vulnerability on his face, the inability to fight anymore as his raw emotions had finally reached the surface. While Steve felt terrible that Tony was feeling this way and had every intention of making things right, his spirits were finally starting to rise in the hopes that they could finally make their past water under the bridge.

“Tony, please, I want you to listen very carefully cause it’s important I get all of this out. I am so sorry. I never should have done what I did back then. I saw that my friend was in trouble and it blinded me to everything else. I know I should have listened to you, that you only wanted what was best for their team, but I let my emotions get the better of me. No matter how hard I try, everytime Bucky’s involved I turn back into that scared boy from Brooklyn, terrified that his only friend, only family, was going to leave him behind, but that’s exactly what I did to you. I focused on my own feelings and discarded yours, and for that I’m truly sorry.”

He could see Tony’s face twist as he took in Steve’s sincerity about the situation, but Steve still had a lot more to get off his chest. “And as for not telling you the truth about your parents, I have no excuse.” 

He made sure to look deep into Tony’s eyes for the next part, needing him to understand that he meant every word he was about to say. “But Tony, you have to believe me when I say that I have _always_ trusted you. We may have had our differences, hell I know I’ve said some things in the past to make it seem like I hated what you stood for, but I always knew you had the team at heart. It was for my own selfish gain that I didn’t tell you. I told myself at the time that I wouldn’t divulge that news to you because I didn’t want to bring up bad memories for you, cause you any more pain, but in reality I did it because I was trying to save myself. I didn’t want to have the conversation that would ultimately come up about Bucky, but I see now that I should have put my full faith in you. I knew you would be able to handle it, take control of the emotions you felt, but I was afraid to deal with it myself and I cannot stress enough how much I regret that decision every day. I know I can’t change any of it, what happened in the past will be there forever, but I wish that I could. I’ll make this promise to you instead: I will do everything in my power to make this right. I don’t want to go through life dancing around our issues. From now on, we speak what we’re feeling and don’t keep any more secrets. We’re a team and, if you’ll accept my apology, I’d really like for us to start working as one again.” 

He saw the way Tony’s anger faded away as he spoke, fully taking in every word Steve was saying. At the end of his speech, Tony was standing in front of him with his arms crossed, a sad smile replacing the bitterness from before and his eyes shining with emotion and unshed tears at the brunt of everything that had been said. Steve could feel his own eyes betraying him, the weight of everything he had just said bringing a cathartic release that he hadn’t felt in years. It finally felt like things would be okay between them, the gaping chasm between them growing smaller as they looked at each other closely for the first time in years.

“God, I’ve gone soft since having Morgan.” Tony joked, wiping his eyes and giving Steve a look that he knew meant Tony had accepted his apology. 

Steve closed the gap between them and held out his hand, inviting Tony to seal their past behind them and allow them to start a new chapter of their lives, a team once again. 

“Whatever it takes?” Steve asked as he firmly held out his hand for Tony to shake.

Tony smirked and grabbed his hand with his own, rough from the years of working in his lab, tinkering away on the endless inventions Steve knew he always had on the go.

“Whatever it takes,” he echoed steadily. 

Steve couldn’t help but bring him in for a quick hug, clapping him on the back once and feeling Tony do the same before they let go, Tony rubbing a hand over his own face again as the long emotional moment was getting to be too much, never one to show his emotions to anyone else. 

Tony cleared his throat and walked back over to the almost complete blueprint for the gauntlet, motioning for Steve to come over and take a look. There was no need for them to say anything else to one another, the heartfelt messages they had both given enough for them to understand where each other was at, peace finally falling over them as they finally let all of their past grievances go, focusing on the future instead. 

“The reason I’m having trouble with the material is because the original gauntlet was made in space with materials I’ve never even heard of,” he began, starting their original discussion over with new levity between them, no more harbouring angry thoughts towards the other. They were free to actually be friends again.

“I would never ask Thor to go get another one, the poor guy has been through enough for a lifetime, so I had to come up with a new plan in order to create something strong enough to harness the power of the stones. I decided to take some inspiration from my older suit tech, bringing in my gold-titanium alloy concoction, and combined it with my newer nano-tech which allows for the Starklet, what I have so brilliantly coined my gauntlet invention here, to regenerate itself as the stones burn through its material. No metal on earth can compete with this type of power, but fusing the two allows for it to regenerate before it can crack as the user activates the stone’s full power.” 

Steve was blown away by everything he had just laid out. This stuff came so easily to him, so naturally, and it made sadness flair inside him as he wished Howard could be here to see the man Tony had grown to be. 

“If I could trade places with him, I would you know.”

Tony, who had picked up his work on the gauntlet again, froze briefly, tilting his head at Steve with an amused expression on his face.

“Well, in that case you’d both be dead, and what good would you do me then?”

Steve brows furrowed in confusion; that hadn’t been the response he was expecting. 

“What?” Tony asked innocently, not understanding the confusion. “I never predicted a long lifespan for him anyway, seeing that he mainly survived on caffeine and big ideas.”

Steve laughed at the comment, the connection to the man in front of him instantly jumping to his mind at the words. “Like you?”

“Ha ha, very funny Rogers. Let’s just hope that this one pans out, shall we, because it’s just about ready for a test-spin.


	5. Barn Door Protocol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is Steve's second last chapter! Once we post his final one in a few days it'll be off to Thor's chapter next!
> 
> Steve's whole section mostly follows Endgame, although with some differences woven throughout (like his meeting with Peggy), but after Steve's section things start to delve more into AU territory. Thor's and Tony's sections will also have some movie elements, but theirs also brings in a lot of other aspects as well. And they definitely don't follow the movie as much as Steve's.
> 
> Apart from that, the other three chapters are entirely our own making and are not based on Endgame. 
> 
> I know this format can be confusing, so I hope this explanation helps! I have some more ideas for stories in the future that will be from just one characters perspective, but this story is supposed to showcase our 6 hero's journeys. 
> 
> Sorry for the rambling, now on to the chapter!

Steve was still standing in the same place Tony had left him even 10 minutes later. 

After their talk, Tony had finalized the last details and rushed to his lab where Rocket and Bruce were waiting to help him build the gauntlet, everyone eager to finally set the last step of their plan into action. Steve had declined Tony’s offer for him to come and watch, not one for scientific talk, and wanting the time alone to reflect on everything that had just happened. 

It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, the new found feeling of lightness drastically different to what he had been feeling before their talk. He and Tony had finally gotten to the core of their issues, said what needed to be said, and were ready to move on. Gone were the days of sheltering the dark truth within themselves, replaced with deep understanding and forgiveness for the mistakes they had made in the past. It brought a soft smile to Steve's face just thinking about it. He had been worried that Tony would never forgive him for what happened. After he had been rescued from space after the snap, Tony’s anger toward Steve had been startling, but not surprising for their first reunion in two years. He knew Tony was mad, the reason they had failed was because of the team being broken up, but he hadn’t quite expected the fury in which his anger was burning from. 

After he had collapsed at Steve’s feet, which had scared the absolute shit out of him as Tony’s body was so weak, they had instantly set out on their mission to headhunt Thanos, ending with Thor chopping off the Titan’s head. Things had moved in a blur after that. They had returned to earth, hearts heavy with the knowledge that Thanos had destroyed the stones, where members of their team had immediately started to disperse, not seeing any reason to stay. Bruce had told them he was leaving to figure things out, not telling them where but saying he was going to stay in New York, while Thor, the most devastated of them all, had wasted no time in making his leave as well, barely managing to tell them he was going to some place called Tonsberg, Norway before leaving everyone behind. 

Tony had followed suit shortly after, Rhodey having told him what had happened while he was unconscious in their medbay. He had obviously taken the news hard as well and as soon as he had recovered enough to move, he had asked Pepper to gather up all their things so they could leave. He had meant for good too, not just for a little while so he could heal, telling them he wanted “no part of their cyclical failures” anymore before turning to Steve, betrayal in his eyes as he told him the compound was now his to run and walked away. He hadn’t even looked back as he got into the passenger side of his car parked out front, the dust floating in the air as Pepper sped out the only remaining sign that he had ever been there. 

That had been the last thing Tony had said to him until their meet-up five years later. Tony had told Natasha where he lived, not having anything against her, so they knew where to find him when they needed his help with the time heist. Steve had to admit he was surprised when he saw the little girl in his arms. The man standing in front of him was a very different man from which he had once known. Tony had immediately seemed softer, less rough around the edges as he held his daughter in her arms, the love for her clear on his face as he told her to go inside so he could talk with Steve, Natasha, and Scott. But now, they were here. Only three weeks from that day and so much had changed. Natasha was gone, Tony and him had just made up, and now they were hours away from getting everyone back. 

Wanting to let his overworked mind relax, the stress of everything making it all seem so much more out of control, he sat back down on the armchair and picked up the newspaper he had abandoned earlier again, the familiar text on the pages easing his mind. 

It must have eased his mind a bit too much though as the next thing he knew he felt himself being shaken awake by a strong hand on his left shoulder. 

“Steve come on, they finished the gauntlet!” 

It was Rhodey, sounding more excited than Steve had heard in years.

He sat up from his slumped position, checking his watch for the time: 5:32. He had been asleep for two hours. “Yeah, I’m coming” he mumbled, his foggy brain slowly catching up with the world around him. 

Rhodey stood back and threw something at him, his sluggish reflexes barely catching the item before they hit the floor. Looking down at what was in his hands, he saw that it was his suit, noticing that Rhodey was decked in his own armour now that he could see properly after being awoken so abruptly. 

“Suit up, we’ll be waiting in the lab,” was all he said before walking away leaving Steve in the room by himself again. 

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stood up, stretching his sore muscles from sleeping in such a cramped position, before getting undressed and putting his suit on then and there. Everyone else was in the lab so there wasn’t a threat of someone walking in on him half dressed. 

Fastening everything on his suit and making sure everything was straight, he grabbed his helmet and walked quickly out of the room. 

Making his way down the hallway of the compound, he walked up the flight of stairs to their main lab where everyone was waiting for him. He noticed someone had brought his shield for him, most likely Tony, and placed it on one of the tables where he grabbed it as he walked by, joining the circle of people around the finished gauntlet. It looked exactly like the schematics Tony had drawn up, the red exterior, accented with gold elements around the knuckles and down toward the wrist, looked exactly like it belonged to one of Tony’s suits except for the six brightly glowing stones fastened to it. 

Steve rubbed his arms as goosebumps erupted on his skin, their energy making the hairs on his arm prickle as he watched the last few pieces of the gauntlet slot neatly into place. 

“All right, the glove’s ready,” came Rocket's voice from where he and Tony were standing next to where it was hovering in mid air, surrounded by light blue lasers as they held the device. It made excitement and a deep feeling of longing well up in Steve just looking at it. This was the device that was finally going to bring their friends home. The mission that Nat had given her life for was finally about to be completed and the relief that came with that thought was like none other he had felt before. 

Rocket looked up and addressed the group. “The question is, who’s going to snap their frickin' fingers?” 

That was the one thing that had always been on Steve’s mind. Seeing what the stones had done to Thanos, one of the most powerful beings in the universe, did not make it a desirable task. 

The whole room went silent, everyone exchanging somber glances as Rocket’s question hung heavily in the air like a dark cloud above them. After what had happened to Nat, no one wanted anyone else to die, but the desire to get everyone back was also high in their hearts. It made the decision extremely difficult. They were now stuck between a rock and a hard place; on one hand earth would be restored to normal, but on the other they may have to sacrifice someone else to get there. 

Steve could see the worry in everyone’s eyes, Tony’s even more so as he stared at the ground, unblinking. Watching him closely, Steve could see the look of determination suddenly entering Tony’s face, a sort of calm turmoil as he teetered on the edge of his internal decision. Steve knew exactly what was flashing through his mind, the usual mystery which guarded his thoughts nonexistent, and the truth landed in Steve’s gut like lead: Tony was going to volunteer. 

Steve knew how hard Tony had taken the snap, his first words after being trapped in space for two weeks and left for dead being ‘I lost the kid’ along with the soul-crushing look that had come across his face when they had flashed through everyone they had lost. It was a loss that he thought they could never recover from, so now that they were here and there was a chance to get it all back, there was only one logical decision for him to make. 

Only, it wasn’t logical at all. Not from where Steve was standing. 

Despite his best efforts to make everyone forget it, all the hot headed comments and near disasters, Tony had done more than enough to right his past slip ups- bringing the nuke into space in 2012, providing all the resources the Avengers needed, including money from his own pocket so they could support themselves. He had dedicated his life to making sure that theirs were taken care of, always being there for them in his own way.

Disagreements and petty arguments aside, he had always been the one to take the weight of the team on his back and from day one he had been ready to give everything up for the chance they could have a tomorrow. 2012 Steve had never been able to understand this about him, even his 2016 self still had not fully understood that about him and saw his attempts to enforce the accords as a selfish quest to prove himself to Pepper, but he had eventually seen that he was trying to save the team even back then. He was a good man, had always been underneath all his defences, and if anyone deserved to live on after all of this ended it was him. 

Tony also had a family, a four year old daughter waiting up for her dad to arrive home safely, and there was no way he was about to let him sacrifice that to save everyone else. It was finally time for Steve to give back, make up for what had happened between them after the Sokovia Accords. Besides, Bucky would be okay, and so would Sam and the others. They would have each other, and in the end Steve knew that none of them would fault him for doing what was right. It was all part of the job and he knew Bucky would understand, no matter how difficult a concept it was to accept. Steve had to do this. This was his choice. 

Stepping forward, he cleared his throat and felt the words form on the tip of his tongue, knowing in that moment that they were ones he wouldn’t regret. 

“I'll do it.” 

It took a moment and a few heads snapping away from him to realize that he had not been the one to say them. Briefly locking eyes with Tony, they shared a look of trepidation before they followed suit. Jerking his head to the left, he gave a sharp intake of breath as he regarded Thor and the resolute expression on his face. He had been the last person Steve expected to step up, the condition he was in not the best for the task at hand. 

Tony must have shared that mindset as he immediately stepped in, eyes wide in bewilderment.

“Excuse me?” 

“It’s okay-” Thor started to say but Tony cut him off, clearly not wanting this to go any further. 

“Stop, stop. Slow down, big guy,” Tony soothed as Steve placed a comforting hand on Thor’s shoulder, attempting to bring support but only managing to piss the god off. 

Steve knew that Thor’s mental state wasn’t the best right now, no one faulted him for that, and for that reason didn’t want to see him get even more hurt than he already was wielding the stones. Steve didn’t even know if his body could handle it. The god hadn’t exactly taken care of himself during the past five years, so the overbearing power of it all might be enough to send him over the edge, _kill him,_ and he wasn’t about to let another friend die on his watch. 

“Thor, just wait. Listen to what he has to say,” he reasoned as he removed the offending hand off his shoulder. Thor shot him a glare and let out a huge huff of air, but listened all the same, narrowing his eyes onto Tony’s face.

“We haven’t decided who’s going to put that on yet,” Tony argued, about to continue before Thor’s nostrils flared, his impatience with them obvious in his voice as he shut Tony down. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. What, we’re all just going to sit around waiting for the right opportunity?” He sneered, not understanding the deeper meaning of their hesitation. They didn’t want anyone else to die; this was a decision that couldn’t be made hastily. 

Tony looked lost for words. Thor was someone you couldn’t argue with, his stubborn temperament making it hard to change his mind once it was set on something. It was both a blessing and a curse when dealing with him, but Steve knew they had to change his mind this time. He spoke again, willing Thor to see their side of things.

“We’ve lost enough already on this mission, I’m not about to watch another friend die.”

Thor softened at this, Natasha’s death having hit him hard, but stuck with his decision. “Look, we went back for those stones for a reason and sitting here staring at them is not going to bring everybody back. I’m the strongest Avenger okay? So, this responsibility falls upon me.” 

Strongest Avenger, the title he never dropped, filled Steve with sadness. He knew it was a huge part of why Thor had gone so far downhill after cutting off Thanos’ head. He placed all the responsibility of the snap on him, saying it was his responsibility to kill Thanos with Stormbreaker the second he had reappeared on earth for the first time since Ultron had attacked. And while Thor’s strive to always do good was one of his biggest assets, his inability to see that everyone also shared that duty made it his weakness too. He needed to know that he wasn’t alone and none of the Avengers were going to make him do something because he was a god and felt he should take the brunt of it all. Steve had promised Tony to be a team again and he wasn’t about to start breaking that promise now. Thor was one of them and he wasn’t about to sacrifice his life for the cause. 

Tony had heard enough as well and stepped forward to get the idea out of his mind, reasoning with him like you would a child. Steve figured his paternal instincts were kicking in, overriding the loss of words he had felt earlier. He was in protective mode for the team now and Steve could see he wasn’t going to let anything happen to them if he could help it. 

“Normally you’re right, but this one isn’t on you. Thanos kicked every one of our asses that day, so that responsibility falls on _all_ of us.” He spoke calmly, his hands outstretched like he was afraid Thor would run away like a wild animal.

“You don’t understand, it’s my _duty_ ” Thor choked out, emotions starting to take hold as the real reason why he was fighting so hard came out.

Tony continued, trying to make him understand that it didn’t have to be this way. “I know you feel that way, but I promise you-” 

Thor shushed him aggressively, trying to push him away. “Stop it! Just let me!” 

The pain in his eyes shone brighter than Steve had ever seen in the past five years. Thor wasn’t ready to let what he felt was his fault go, never willing to let himself rest until he set it right in his mind. But Steve knew better than anyone that sometimes the biggest sacrifice you could make was to step down and let someone else handle the situation. His own ambition to solve everything himself and not let anyone else in had been the reason him and Tony had their fallout, which, in reality, had been the reason they had lost to Thanos in the first place. They were broken apart and Thor hadn’t even been on earth to know about it. If anything, Steve could say it was his fault and he had the responsibility. It was a thought that came to him often, but one that he didn’t fully agree with. Yes, those things had happened to lead to where they were today, but that was only a raindrop in the pond. Thanos was the real reason they were all here. He was the one that had taken away everything from them. If they were going to blame someone, it should be him instead of themselves. They had done their best to stop him, and failed, but at least they had tried. 

Thor desperately clutched onto Tony’s outstretched hands, clasping them together as he spoke, voice cracking. “Just let me do it. Let me do something good for once. Something right,” he whispered, tears filling his eyes as he implored to them. 

His mantra wouldn’t stop, Steve could see it on his face. There was nothing they could say to convince him that he wasn’t in the wrong, that the responsibility didn’t fall directly on his shoulders. Steve knew Tony saw this too, the frustrated determinism on his face revealing how he felt about Thor, but faithfully continued to try his hardest to talk him down, speaking in a soothing voice Steve figured he had picked up while raising Morgan. The change in Tony was apparent to everyone in the two weeks they had all been back together working towards this very moment; he was more sympathetic to how people were feeling and a lot calmer and collected when it came to situations like this. Anytime any one of them had doubts about their plan, he was always there to talk it out, reassuring them that this was going to work. They were going to bring everyone home. There was an air of confidence about him now that Steve had never seen in him before. His exteriors had softened, but for the best reason possible: he had become a father and with that changed his life for good.

Tony turned his back to all of them as he faced Thor directly, putting on his best dad voice to convince the god he wasn’t alone. “Look, it’s not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent. I’m _telling_ you, you’re in no condition.” He laid it down plain and simple exactly like a parent would to their protesting child.

“What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?” 

Tony didn’t respond, but Thor didn't seem to care, caught up in whatever was spinning through his mind.

“Lightning,” he choked out, causing Tony to sigh. 

Steve felt himself sink at the revelation. He should have known. Thor’s superpower was the one thing he clung to the most. It was a feeling Steve could relate to though, his shield being his own crutch that he leaned on in battle, the one thing that was always there for him. However, something that was once so heavily depended on, not knowing what to do without it, was now nothing more than an extra tool in combat. Those years on the run without it, having left it unceremoniously with Tony as he escaped with Bucky, had taught him more than he could ever know about reliance. When you counted on something like that, it tended to cause an invincibility complex to arise within, making it feel like nothing could harm you. It was the same for Thor’s lightning. It wouldn’t help him if he died trying to snap everyone back and it certainly wouldn’t do them any good when he was gone. Him wielding the stones was out of the question and Steve just hoped that Tony could convince of this, and quick, because at this rate they’d never even get the chance to snap everyone back. Arguing back and forth was a waste of time, they needed a real plan of attack, one that didn’t endanger a friend in need. 

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, not wanting to send him spiraling further than he already was. 

“Lightning” he repeated, almost inaudible as he clapped Tony on the back in delusion. They could all see that he wasn’t going to back down no matter how hard they pleaded.

Just when Steve had resigned himself to losing another friend, Bruce stepped up from where he was shadowing from afar, giving Tony and Steve a helping hand as he did what neither of them could.

“Lighting won’t help you, pal. It’s gotta be me.” 

He sounded sullen, but sure, knowing he was the only one who could handle all six stones' power in his new hulk body. 

Thor shook his head, anger radiating off of his body at the complete lack of support, but finally conceded, having lost his battle with three against one, pushing away from Tony and crossing his arms with a stoic look on his face. 

“You saw what those stones did to Thanos.” Bruce paused and began walking toward the gauntlet. “They almost killed him. None of you could survive.” He stopped as he reached the gauntlet, its blue glow reflecting on his green face. While he had said they needed a new tactic, Steve still didn’t like the plan. This was an incredibly dangerous stunt they were about to pull and he didn’t want to lose another friend because of it. They had to be sure it was the best play and that no one would die trying. 

“How do we know you will?” Steve pressed, not wanting to send him into the situation blind.

“We don't,” he answered honestly, knowing full well the risks the snap posed, “but the radiation’s mostly gamma. It’s like… I was made for this.” 

No one said anything else, the plan basically set in stone at his words. Steve knew that this was their best play. If he couldn’t do it, none of them would be able to. It was a chance they had to take, the odds more in his favour.

Bruce looked around, taking in all of their set faces, before reaching out and taking the gauntlet in his huge hands, moving toward the middle of the room where they all instinctively made a circle around him. Steve ended up positioned behind him, not able to see anything that was going on in front, except for Tony moving to walk around him, double checking that he was ready.

“Good to go, yeah?” 

“Let’s do it,” he heard Bruce confidently reply.

Tony moved to Bruce’s left side, joining the circle as he stood next to Clint.

“Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago you’re just bringing them back to now, today. Don’t change anything from the last five years.” 

Steve knew why he was stressing the point so heavily; Tony had made a new life in the five years and if he were to lose that at the hands of bringing everyone back, Steve didn’t think he would ever recover. Morgan was his life and having her ripped away would break him more than the initial snap itself. 

“Got it.” 

He saw Tony sigh in relief and everyone start to move into position. Steve put his helmet on his head, securing the strap before picking up his shield he had placed against his leg. Moving closer, he watched everyone do the same, as Scott activated his own helmet, Rhodey secured his face plate, Thor stood in front of Rocket, and Tony tapped his armour secured to his chest, the nanotech expanding into his red and gold suit and his own face plate popping into place, a long blue shield popping up as soon as his full suit was deployed, Tony moving so both he and Clint were secured behind it. Everyone was ready for the powerful blast of the stones, not willing to leave Bruce alone to do such a strenuous task. They were in this together: They were a team once again. 

“Friday, do me a favour,” Tony’s voice rang out as he talked to his AI assistant. “Activate barn door protocol, will you?” 

Steve couldn’t hear her reply, but all of a sudden the compound began locking down, a metal door closing on the roof above, shutting out any sun streaming in through the skylight, as more metal barricades came down from each window and door, effectively sealing them inside the lab.

“Everybody comes home.” Bruce murmured to himself as he geared up to put the gauntlet on. 

He began sliding the metal glove onto his right hand slowly, the nanotech expanding to fit his giant hulk body. Steve saw Thor watching in distress, his being the only face he could actually see as he didn’t have a helmet on and Clint was blocked behind Tony’s shield, anxiously watching to see what would happen. 

As soon as the glove fit to his hand, each stone shot out a string of colour as it wrapped around his arm, spreading toward his shoulder. He groaned in immense pain, pain which brought him to his knees on the ground and made it shake beneath Steve’s feet, as the intense shock of the stone’s powers hit him full blast. His groaning got louder as the tendrils of light wrapped his arm further, spreading to the top quarter of his back as well. 

Suddenly, everything got more intense. The gauntlet began emitting a sound, something like groaning metal, as the colours intensified, the stones unifying as the light wrapping

Bruce’s arm began to burn his sleeve and the skin beneath. Steve had to shut his mouth tight as the smell of burning fabric and skin began hanging thickly in the air. 

“Take it off! Take it off!” Thor shouted, eyes blown wide at what the stones were doing to Bruce’s arm. 

As much as he wanted to affirm the sentiment, Steve knew that they couldn’t stop now. If they backed out, no one would be coming home. He also had an insight that no one else had, having gone through the process of the Super-Soldier serum back in the day. Locked in the chamber, screaming as fire erupted in every single one of his nerve endings, Howard and Dr. Erskine had been about to pull the plug too when Steve had stopped them. While it had hurt like hell, it was something he was willing to endure if it meant reaching the desired end goal. He was glad to have the chance to tell them he was okay and to keep going, leading to the serum working and becoming the man he was today. He wanted to give Bruce this same chance, let him answer before they intervened in the case that he still wanted to continue, keep putting his body through the pain it was already in to bring everyone back. 

“No, wait!” he yelled, putting up his right hand to silence Thor before addressing Bruce himself. “Bruce, are you okay?” 

Bruce threw his head back in pain instead of responding, nothing intelligible escaping his lips. 

“Talk to me, Banner,” Tony added, alarm flooding his tone at the sight of their friend as well.

He managed to breathe through the pain enough to reply to their growing concern. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” he panted, nodding his head. 

He managed to get back to his feet, clutching his gauntlet clad hand as he pushed it up with his good one, getting in position to snap. He started screaming at the movement, his vocals reaching their max before he finally snapped, the room exploding in a myriad of colours making Steve shut his eyes tightly, before everything went quiet. Opening his eyes, he blinked the spots dancing across his vision away just in time to see Bruce collapse on the floor, the gauntlet falling off and laying next to him.

“Bruce!” he exclaimed in panic as he rushed toward his fallen friend, Tony joining him almost instantly. He heard a clang as Clint kicked the offending item away behind him, the sound of it skittering across the floor before it came to a stop somewhere across the room with a metallic thud the only sound other than Bruce’s laboured breathing. 

He reached out to do something when Tony jumped in, barking at him to stop. 

“Don’t move him,” he said as he retracted his helmet, immediately lifting his right hand up to spray some kind of medicinal solution on Bruce’s heavily burned arm.

The white solution cocooned the entire limb all the way up to his neck in the protective layer, Bruce’s laboured breath evening out as the angry red skin was sealed away. He shakily reached up and grabbed the closest thing with his intact left hand, Steve’s own hand, crushing it easily in his strong grip. Steve didn’t say anything though, letting the hurt man get whatever comfort he needed. Thor joined him, placing his hand on Bruce’s head in an attempt to sooth him.

“Did it work?” Bruce choked out, pain lacing each word. 

“We’re not sure. It’s okay,” Thor replied, not wanting him to get upset. Steve heard the sound of the metal doors opening all around them, the sun shining down on them once again as the skylight was uncovered. 

Looking around now that he knew Bruce wasn’t in any immediate danger, he saw Scott walk towards the windows right outside the lab, staring in astonishment. Staring at him, a phone ringing to their left startled both him and Tony, who was still across from him as they knelt next to Bruce. They both jumped at the sudden disruption, unease still heavy in both of them at the prospect of something going wrong with the snap. 

They watched as Clint slowly walked to it, not believing what he was seeing. He turned around to face them, tears filling his eyes as he answered the phone and lifted it up to his ear. 

“Laura?” 

The question came out as a sob and they saw his face crumple in emotion as a female voice starting talking quickly over the line. Steve’s heart froze in his chest, every muscle in his body stiffening. Laura was Clint’s wife; one the very people that had been snapped away in his life.... 

That could only mean one thing- the snap had _worked._

Steve quickly turned his head to face Tony and saw the same look of realization on his face. He was pale and barely breathing, not able to comprehend what that meant for them. 

They stared at each other numbly for a second before Tony spoke, his voice a whisper at first but got stronger as he talked. “Friday?” 

“Yes boss?” she instantly replied, voice coming from inside Tony’s suit now that his helmet was off. 

A grin slowly spread on Tony's face, tears springing to his eyes as he was undoubtedly thinking of the people now back in his life. Steve was having the exact same thoughts, Bucky at the front and centre of his mind’s eye as he realized he would get to see him again.

“Did we do it?” 

“I’m detecting an influx of life outside the compound. Earth has been restored to its full capacity,” she replied, a hint of pride underlying her robotic voice. 

Steve saw Tony’s breath hitch as he took it all in, smile wavering as it flashed between ecstatic and disbelief. 

“I owe you big time Friday. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“Thank you boss, but you programmed me. You’re only flattering yourself.”

Tony chuckled, presumably giving a reply but Steve wasn’t focused on him anymore. Her words were ringing in his head. They had won: Thanos was dead and they had successfully snapped everyone back. 

“Holy shit, we actually did it.” he blurted out before he could stop himself, the overwhelming excitement of it all letting his mouth get carried away from his mind. 

Tony laughed again, this time in surprise, grinning from ear to ear, astonishment mixing with utter joy in his brown eyes. 

“You know it’s a party when Captain Language says a bad word. Anyone up for some-?” 

He never got the chance to finish his question.

A deafening explosion shook the whole compound. They barely had time to react before everything was exploding around them, Steve’s vision going fuzzy with all the dust and smoke that rose in the air and his hearing went blank, leaving nothing but a high pitched ringing inside his skull, before something smacked into his head and he lost consciousness, knowing nothing more. 


	6. Backup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have finally made it to the end of Steve's section! I hope you guys enjoyed :)
> 
> Like I said earlier, Steve's chapter does follow Endgame a lot, but from this point on the story begins to branch off. 
> 
> Thor's section is next, and it is much shorter than Steve's, with only 1 chapter total, and then from there we'll be into Tony's section! 
> 
> Thor has a minor element that is related to Endgame, but most of it differs. Tony's also has some elements of Endgame too, but with a lot of new content (and maybe some more of a certain friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man...)
> 
> I apologize if this is repetitive, but I just wanted to let everyone know that this whole story will not just strictly follow what we saw in Endgame.
> 
> Thanks for reading this long and probably unnecessary message, I hope you enjoy the chapter! :3

He came back to consciousness quickly, something nudging his leg making him gasp in panic. 

“That’s my man,” he heard Tony breath in relief, obviously scared that Steve was hurt worse than he appeared. 

Steve opened his eyes and saw Tony’s blurry silhouette leaning over him. Turning his head to look around from where he was lying on the ground, Steve noticed that everything was destroyed around, heavy dust floating around him making him cough lightly, causing pain to shoot through his torso. He noted that Tony didn’t look too bad at least, covered in dirt and a few bloody scratches on his face, but alive and walking around which was all that mattered. Taking in his own body, he was incredibly sore and his head hurt a bit from being hit, but otherwise he felt fine, no broken bones or foreign objects sticking into him anywhere.

“Lose this again, I’m keeping it,” Tony attempted to lighten the mood, referring to Steve’s dirty but intact shield in his right hand. 

Smirking slightly, he gave Tony a concerned glance. He didn’t even know where he had ended up, the compound reduced to nothing but a giant pile of rubble.  _ How did this even happen? _ They had snapped everyone back fine and the next thing they knew they were getting blown to hell. Had something gone wrong with the snap? So many questions were rushing through his mind, but he decided to voice the one that could potentially answer them all. 

“What just happened?” he wheezed from his position on the ground, his body still recovering from the blast.

Tony set his face in a line. “You mess with time and it tends to mess back. You’ll see, now let’s get you up.” 

He reached his free hand down to help pull Steve to his feet, wavering slightly as he went from laying down to upright quickly. He groaned at his aching muscles, each and every one of them screaming in protest at the moment, and stiffly took the offered shield back, slipping his arm through the worn leather strap, securing it on his left arm as he fastened the belt tightly. 

“You good? Your cheek is bleeding.” Tony checked in once Steve was ready to move, not wanting him to keel over the second he turned his back. 

He brought a hand up to wipe at his right cheek, the pain setting in from the deep gash he assumed had happened when he got knocked out by whatever hit him in the face, at Tony’s mention. 

Glancing at the sticky blood coating his fingers as he brought his hand back down, he brushed it off, knowing they had more important things at hand and having dealt with much worse. One incident in particular came to mind, having been stabbed in the abdomen during one of their recon missions on the run. He had had to trek through the desolate tundra of Russia with Nat and Sam supporting him while he almost bled out after. His face could wait. 

“I’m good. Let’s go.”

Tony led him through the debris, talking to what Steve thought was himself at first, but realized it was Friday again as he listened more closely. 

“Tell Pep- tell her that I might be a bit late coming home for dinner. And tell Morgan I love her, 3000.”

“Of course, Tony. Is there anything else you need me to do?” 

“Contact Happy. Tell him to start a search for May and to bring her back to the house when he finds her. ”

“Right away. Please be careful sir.” 

“I always am.”

They continued walking in silence after that, Steve wishing that anything but this was currently happening. Not only had they just snapped everyone back, finally thinking they were in the clear, but Tony had a family waiting for him at home. If something happened to him after everything he had gone through to ensure he got to keep the life he had found, Steve would never forgive himself. 

Finally emerging from the cave of debris they had found themselves in, Steve saw the outside world, other than the sky, for the first time since the blast. Everything was  _ destroyed.  _ The whole area, as far as they could see, was just a barren landscape scattered with debris, no semblance to the lush green lawns and carefully tended gardens of courtyard that it previously held. In its place was nothing but jagged chunks of concrete and small fires flaring upward from the huge craters carved into the earth. It looked more like the surface of the moon instead of the meticulously tended garden it had been, the blasts doing their worst to the once beautiful compound. He also saw Thor, unharmed, standing at the ledge before a long drop off to the ground below, staring at something Steve couldn’t yet see. 

Approaching the ledge, Steve looked up and finally found the source of what had just happened. It was the biggest ship he had ever seen, suspended ominously above them, blocking any sunlight trying to get through. It honestly didn’t make too much of a difference as the dust and smoke billowing from the collapsed building they were standing on was thick enough to blanket the sky, making darkness spread like night even though it was only 6 o’clock. Steve moved to stand next to Thor’s left, while Tony stayed on his, the three of them gazing down at the ground together in disbelief. Steve now understood what Tony meant by ‘you’ll see’. There, probably fifty feet away from them on the devastated ground below, was  _ Thanos  _ sitting calmly, surprisingly, alone. 

Steve could see the glow of their own fires surrounding them out of the corner of his eye, the sound of crackling sparks from the innards of the building being obliterated by the ship,  _ Thanos’ _ ship, but he dare turn away from where he was focused on Thanos, watching his every move as he lazily stared at them, his giant double sided sword resting upright next to him as if he were threatening them, showing his weapon was never out of his reach.

“What’s he been doing?” Tony asked Thor, as Steve assumed the god had been standing out here the whole time Tony had been looking for him amidst the wreckage. 

“Absolutely nothing.”

A thought popped into Steve’s head, remembering what they had just accomplished, and panic rose in him, the thought of everything being undone making him feel sick. They couldn’t go through that again. This was their one shot, their last chance, and if they lost now, all hope would be gone. 

“Where are the stones?” He was talking to either of them, not caring who answered as long as they weren’t with the giant Tyrant below.

Tony gestured to the mess around them. “Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn’t have ‘em.”

Steve’s panic eased a little. While it wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for, as long as Thanos didn’t have them it was a win in his books. This was their final chance to conquer him and Steve wasn’t going to let anything come between them and their end goal of peace. “So, we keep it that way.” 

Thor, sounding as tired as Steve felt, spoke again, voice soft and somewhat defeated. “You know it’s a trap, right?” 

“Yeah, I don’t much care.” Tony replied, the anger beginning to radiate in his voice clear as his readiness to get his hands on Thanos’ neck and squeeze until the life faded from his eyes was very apparent. 

It was exactly what Steve was feeling now. They had all lost to that monster five years ago and with Natasha’s death fresh in their minds, Steve knew they were all ready to kill Thanos once again, this time for good. He knew that Tony most likely had a deeper drive than the rest as he had been unconscious the first time they had done it, not able to see the mad Titan’s head get cut off before his own eyes-he was out for blood and Steve wasn’t going to stop him. 

Thor shared the same sentiment as Steve, wanting nothing more than to vanquish Thanos indefinitely from their lives. 

“Good. Just as long as we’re all in agreement.” 

As soon as he spoke, Thunder started to rumble deeply above, lighting cracking across the sky. Steve looked over to see Thor’s eyes glowing a bright turquoise colour as he channeled his powers from within, extending both his arms as bright white electricity rode in waves over his whole body, the glow reaching a crescendo, making Steve shield his eyes. Multiple strikes of lightning hit the ground next to them, surrounding Thor, before disappearing completely and leaving the god dressed in his full armour, Mjolnir in his left hand and Stormbreaker in his right. His long hair half pinned back out of his face and his beard braided neatly, all in preparation for him to join in battle. It amazed Steve to think that even through all that power, none of it had even touched Tony or himself. The only evidence that it had ever been there were the black spots drifting in his vision from the close exposure to the light. 

“Let’s kill him properly this time,” Thor ordered, the energy that came from entering battle evident in his tone. 

He was ready to fight and looking at Tony, Steve knew he was too. Psyching himself up, he cleared his mind, rolling his shoulders to loosen his stiff back before he stood tall as well. Thanos would go down, even if it killed him in the process: They weren’t going to lose this time.

Peeking over the edge of the cliff they were standing on, he saw that the drop was steep. Knowing what Steve was thinking as he watched him stare at the ground below, him being the only one of the three that didn’t have any capacity to fly, Tony offered him a nod. 

“Need a ride there Captain?”

“Please.” 

Thor swung Mjolnir above his head, gathering speed until he shot off the ground and towards Thanos below, disappearing out of sight. Tony moved as well, his helmet clunking shut as he stepped behind Steve and put his hands under Steve’s arms to transport him to the ground as well. 

“Hang on to that shield of yours, I’m not making any pit stops if you drop it.”

Steve was about to assure him he wouldn’t when Tony took off, making his body clench as his feet left the ground, sharply turning downwards at a dizzying speed. With the speed they were going Steve thought they were going to crash straight into the dirt, but at the last second, having done this hundreds of times, Tony straightened so their feet were facing the ground and slowed so they came to a stop with a gentle thud, landing next to Thor.

Letting out a shaky puff of breath, Steve was thankful they were no longer suspended in the air. He didn’t prefer to fly using Tony’s suits, not trusting them like he did airplanes no matter how many times Tony had given the speech about how much safer his tech actually was, but now having the grounding effect of the earth beneath his feet he fell in formation with the others as they began their approach. Unlike being precariously held fifty feet in the air by an iron man-can, to Steve there were no uncertain terms here. They were going to bring this Titan down, for good this time, or give all they had trying.

As they walked, Steve thought about the rest of the Avengers trapped inside, Bruce already hurt from the snap, and silently prayed that they were all okay, finding their way out of the rubble as they approached Thanos. If something happened to the three of them here, at least the other surviving Avengers would be there to sort the new world, welcome everyone home that had been snapped back to life. 

They were close enough to Thanos now that they could see every feature on his face, his ugly butt chin lined with the deep grooves of his purple face just as unpleasant as the first time Steve had seen it up close in Wakanda. Thanos was sitting on a chunk of concrete, with piles and piles of rubble, some on fire and others simply smouldering, surrounded him everywhere they looked. There was nothing left in the whole area, the twenty acres of land Tony owned here in upper state New York nothing more than a glorified wasteland now. 

“You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me,” he taunted all-mightily as they approached, his superiority complex as big as ever. 

Steve continued to head him off straight on, while Thor looped around to the right and Tony to the left, surrounding the Titan. They were all cautious as they moved in ever-closer, watching to see what Thanos’ next move would be. Steve didn’t trust his calm charade. Thanos always had a bigger plan at hand, never one to do things civilly. 

“I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

“Yup, we’re all kinds of stubborn. Now why don’t you slither back into whatever hellhole you came out of like a good little worm.” Tony mocked, nothing but hate lacing his words.

Thanos laughed, not at all fazed by Tony’s anger. “I’m thankful because now, I know what I must do.” 

He threw the rock he had been toying with to the side, standing up to face them before turning to put his helmet on his fat head from where he had hung it up on top of his sword, all the while monologuing to stroke his ego as he told them his grand plans. “I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then with the stones you collected for me, create a new one teeming with life.” 

He picked his sword out of the ground and began turning slowly as he kept speaking. “A world that knows not what it has lost, but only what it has been given.” 

All three of them continued to approach closer, not backing down from where Thanos was poorly trying to bait them. Thanos finally fully turned around, towering over them as he stood to his full height with his sword clutched in his right hand, watched in amusement as Thor, having heard enough, started channeling lightning through both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker, getting in position to fight. 

“A grateful universe,” he finally finished, smiling at their enraged faces.

Steve would never understand his reasoning. There was nothing peaceful or balanced about a world that had to be massacred in order to be ‘saved’. What was the point of saving a universe if you had to destroy everyone on it to do so? That wasn’t saving- it was an egotistical genocide to fulfill a greater purpose that Thanos desperately needed in his life. He had somehow gotten the idea in his thick skull that he was a god, an omnipotent entity that had a duty to enact his will on what he had deemed a heedless universe. He was no better than all the men before him, spitting their perspicacious lies, trying to tear the little guys into threads to weave their blanket of power from. They were nothing but bullies at heart and Steve had no time for men like him and the unrelenting shit-stream they left wherever they went. 

He regarded Thanos with nothing but disgust, lips curled in outrage. “Born out of blood.” 

There was an airiness to Thanos’ reply as he favoured the simplicity of his ways. “They’ll never know.” 

But his face morphed almost instantly, wrath replacing any light that had previously been showing through his emotions as he threatened them. 

“Because you won’t be alive to tell them.” 

It was like his words had flicked a switch in all of them, each of them springing into action at once in an attempt to take him down. He heard Thor yell as they all charged, bringing every ounce of power they had into the blows. 

Tony struck first, hitting Thanos in the face with two brilliant blue rays from his hand repulsers before rolling below, out of the way for Steve and Thor to strike. Steve instantly threw his shield, catching it as Thanos deflected it using his giant blade, as Thor struck at the same time, throwing Mjolnir in what Steve could only see as a blur of silver, which Thanos easily ducked, whipping around to face Steve instead. Barely having enough time to react, he brought his shield up and swore the bones in his arm cracked as he felt the reverb from the impact of the blade against the vibranium cut right through him. 

The force flung him backward, knocking the wind completely out of his lungs in a big rush as his body slammed into a pile of concrete off to the side from where they had originally rushed Thanos. He laid there, crumpled on the ground as he sucked in wheezing breaths, time fading in and out as he recovered. After a minute of trying to breathe, the world around him came back into focus and the ringing in his head fading away. He sat up slowly, groaning as his back protested, but felt no broken bones. 

Knowing he had to rejoin the fight, he stood up, stumbling a bit as he tried to regain his footing, before straightening out completely and looking back over to where he had seen Tony and Thor last. Thankfully, they were still there, battling hard with blinding flashes of blue and white accompanying their every move as they used their strengths to try and overcome Thanos’ brute strength. Jogging over painfully, he made it back in time to see Thanos pick up Tony by his feet, struggling wildly as he tried to turn and hit Thanos in the face with his repulsor, before he was swung up and back into the ground, face first, where he lay unmoving.

“Tony!” he called over their comms, worried that Thanos had done major damage. 

A groan was the only reply, not reassuring but at least Steve knew he hadn’t lost consciousness when he slammed into the ground. The suit must have taken most of the blow, leaving Tony dazed as he began to move feebly on the ground, trying to shake the major hit off.

Steve’s attention was brought back to Thanos as Thor charged him alone, easily getting defeated as the Titan knocked Stormbreaker away with a resounding clang, sending the axe flying from Thor’s grasp, as he grabbed the god by his neck, dangling him off the ground before throwing him onto the dirt below. Steve could only watch in horror as Thanos started punching him, each blow hitting Thor’s face with a sickening thud, the blood flying from his now broken nose and split lip evident even from Steve’s position further back. Hitting him four more times, he finally paused the relentless attack, standing to his full height, he flexed his bloody purple hand before suddenly stomping on Thor’s chest, the loud cracking of bones as Thanos’ right foot made contact sending chills down Steve’s spine as he face twisted in disgust. 

Woozily, but somehow still coherent through his swollen eyes and face spurting blood, Thor managed to summon Stormbreaker back to his hand, but wasn’t quick enough to stop Thanos from catching it mid-air. The charm that Mjolnir held, allowing only the worthy to hold it, was not a part of the axe, letting Thanos wield it like any other weapon. Axe in hand, he began pressing it into Thor’s battered chest slowly, the veins on Thor’s temple bulging as he desperately attempted to move the sharp weapon away before it sunk deep into his flesh, killing him.

While this had all happened too fast for Steve to react, he knew that he needed to do something- and fast. Tony was out of commission, finally sitting up from his position on the ground but still too out of it to help, and Thor was two seconds away from being split in two. 

Not knowing how he could overpower Thanos on his own, he searched the area around him to find anything he could work with, only seeing piles of rubble and the fires still burning around them, before his eye suddenly caught something glinting in the fire’s light to his right, the silver standing out against the dark brown background of the exposed dirt from the blasts. He couldn’t believe his luck: It was Mjolnir, lying abandoned from where Thanos had clearly knocked it away in the middle of the fight. Approaching the hammer, he knew deep down that this was exactly what he needed. 

Back before Ultron had attacked, during the party right before all hell broke loose, Thor had talked them into all trying to pick up his hammer. They had succumbed to the peer pressure and tried, with no luck, but as Steve had his turn he instantly knew something was different. The hammer felt welcome in his hands, like he had used it all his life. He knew what that meant, he could lift the hammer, but he hadn’t wanted to flaunt it at the time, show off for any reason. The hammer was Thor’s and Steve didn't need an object to judge whether he was worthy: his actions should speak for themselves. So, he had pretended to give it his all, stopping when he felt the hammer budge a little before admitting ‘defeat’ and sitting back down. No one had known, except maybe some suspicion from Thor, that he was able to pick it up and Steve had wanted to keep up the charade, even joining in with Tony when they were making fun of what worthy truly meant before Thor had gone back to Asgard. But there was no time to dwell on that now. Thor needed help and Steve knew it was the only play that would work. 

He picked up the hammer with his right hand, grasping the exquisite wooden handle tightly, and took a second to marvel at how light it was. It felt strangely comfortable in his hands, like a pair of worn ice skates that were molded perfectly to your feet. It felt right and he wasted no time in bringing it back towards his head, gearing to throw it directly at Thanos’ back to throw him away from Thor. He swung with every ounce of strength he had, but ended up missing slightly as he didn’t have the weapon perfected, still managing to catch Thanos in his right arm, pieces of his armour breaking off and flying everywhere like shrapnel where the hammer hit as well as sending him tumbling off of Thor onto the ground below,

Stormbreaker with him. Almost like a trained reflex, he called the hammer back, surprised when it actually listened, and braced himself for its impact as it soared back to his chest, bringing his arm back to his chest to dampen the blow like he would when catching his shield. 

“I knew it!” Thor called in a hoarse voice over the comms from his position on the ground, the suspicion Steve knew he had all those years ago finally being confirmed.

Tony finally chimed in too, Steve looking over to see him standing up for the first time since he had been knocked down, a hint of pain in his voice, but coherent all the same. “Either I’ve taken way too many hits to the head today or Cap over here actually just picked up the hammer of virtue.” 

Steve was saved a reply as Thanos sprung up, roaring in anger, abandoning his attempt to subdue Thor to take on the new threat of Steve and his recently acquired weapon instead. Sensing the fight that was about to take place, Steve began to spin the hammer wildly in front of him, gaining power and momentum as he ran towards Thanos, stopping his fast approach with a skillfully timed uppercut, a burst of white light lighting up the dark scene briefly as the hammer connected with his face, its sheer force easily sending him flying back where he crashed onto the ground in an earth-shattering heap, knocking large chunks of his armour off and sending dust flying in a plume around him from where he had disturbed the ground. 

Recovering quickly and honing in on Steve with a vengeance, the Titan rose to his feet and grit his teeth menacingly, practically foaming at the mouth in his thirst to get revenge. Before he could do anything, however, Steve jumped up and spun around, gaining power as he turned, where he let go of his shield in a perfectly timed attack. Thanos was ready for this, sending the shield flying high above him as he blocked it with his huge sword he had once again picked up from where he had discarded it on the ground earlier in favour of slicing into Thor with Stormbreaker. 

Thinking quickly, he threw Mjolnir into the disc as it soared higher in the air, knocking it off course giving him the ability to summon it back to his side. He attempted to do the same with the hammer, but it didn’t come at his internal command. It suddenly felt resistant, like it had started fighting back. This was all the opportunity Thanos needed, using Steve's brief falter to his advantage he moved to attack, but was intercepted by Tony as he charged Thanos himself, tackling the Titan away with extra boosts from his thrusters before he could get a hit in. 

This distraction gave Steve enough time to clumsily get the hammer back, staggering as it slammed harshly into his hand instead of gracefully like before. Thor appeared next to him to help, still covered in blood, but looking stronger than before, as he too had finally got up from where Thanos had beaten him to a pulp on the ground.

Steve involuntarily yelped as the hammer began shocking his hand, suddenly acting out from where it had been working perfectly before. 

Despite the situation that they were currently in, they found a brief reprieve as Tony fought Thanos in the background, the sounds of metal against metal and Thanos’ grunting as he fought hard against Tony letting them know they needed to hurry up and get things resolved so they could both rejoin the fight. 

“Why is it shocking me? It won’t respond to my calls anymore either.”

Thor chuckled, summoning lighting using Stormbreaker, most likely picking it up from where Thanos had abandoned it in his haste to get to Steve, and sending it crashing down on Thanos in multiple strikes of vibrant energy to give Tony an extra hand as he helped Steve gain control over the rogue hammer. 

“Mjolnir can sense your energy. Relax and try to channel your emotions through her: harness her power for you to use.” Steve paused and closed his eyes, trying to do what he said. After a few seconds of focusing his mind, the hammer stopped shocking him and felt more in his control, the connection between them appearing once again.

Seeing Tony in need again, Steve looked at Thor and saw that the same thought had crossed his mind. In unison, they both threw their weapons, Steve summoning a small bit of lightning as he threw Mjolnir, where they hit Thanos in the side, knocking him off course so that Tony had time to recover before attacking him again.

“Exactly like that! Soon you will be wielding her like a true Asgardian warrior. Now why don’t you try and summon her back to your hand?”

Nodding, Steve closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing all his attention on bringing the hammer back. After a moment of concentrating, he felt a connection and pulled, summoning the object to him. To his surprise, Stormbreaker came flying through the air, coming to a gentle stop in his right hand. Thor looked surprised too before summoning Mjolnir to himself instead. 

Satisfied that Thor looked slightly jealous, he watched as conflicting emotions crossed Thor’s face before he said, “No, you take the little one. The axe is more my style.”

Steve just smirked, throwing him the axe which Thor easily caught in his hand. Tossing Mjolnir back in return, their little workshop was halted when Tony came flying back, firing his repulsors in rapid succession while engaging his back thrusters to stop himself from hitting the ground, simultaneously engaging extra missile cannons from his shoulders, engulfing Thanos in a ball of fire and smoke as they went off one by one, keeping him at bay long enough to address them both as he hovered in mid air. 

“Are you two actually going to help me or are you just going to stand there comparing hammers all day?” he grunted as he continued to blast Thanos with his beams of light, not allowing Thanos the chance to recover.

“Right, sorry!” Steve exclaimed as he and Thor both ran back into battle, Mjolnir and Stormbreaker poised and ready. 

Seeing them coming, Thanos moved to attack Tony harder, lunging to swat him like a fly out of the sky with his sword, but Steve was ready. He threw Mjolnir at what he had anticipated to be Thanos’ head, trying to slow his approach, but was still having a bit of trouble controlling it, nailing Tony instead. The hammer impacted against his iron skull like a gong, the ring as it made contact with his shielded face reverberating through the air making Steve wince in sympathy, guilt surging through him as Tony flew back and hit a pile of wreckage, totally still with no sounds coming from him this time. Steve had knocked him unconscious. 

“Shit!” he yelled, scrambling to get to his fallen friend, but was stopped by Thor’s hand grabbing his left arm, yanking him back.

“You have to forget him for now! We need to focus on Thanos!” 

Steve knew Thor was right but he couldn’t help but feel worried for Tony, having taken two direct head-shots in a very short time span, but pushed it aside as he knew it wouldn’t do Tony any good if they let Thanos win. 

With Tony down, Thanos turned to him and Thor, charging them both. Steve tried to call Mjolnir back, but it didn’t reach him in time, the mad Titan slamming into him instead, knocking him on his ass as he felt his lungs collapse once again, causing him to gasp for air for the second time this fight. In the meantime, Thor began madly swinging Stormbreaker, throwing in hits of crackling lighting as he went, but it wasn’t enough. Thanos seized his arm, stopping the axe mid swing, and head-butting Thor with enough force to crack his skull. Already injured from before, Thor immediately went limp in his arms, flopping lifelessly on the ground as Thanos tossed him like a rag-doll off to the side, a sick smile of pleasure on his face. Steve was once again alone, no backup coming this time as both his teammates were down for the count. 

He shakily got to his feet, knowing he’d had to put everything he had into this fight. Closing his eyes, he gathered all of his emotions, directing them into a single stream in order to hopefully bring control to Mjolnir. Opening his eyes with reinvigorated strength flowing through his body in a hot rush, he stuck his right hand out and felt the hammer instantly come to his side: he was finally getting the hang of it. 

Thanos began to charge, but Steve pushed all of his anger through the hammer, mentally trying to channel its lighting power as he swung the hammer upwards. He was momentarily surprised when it followed his direction, lightning bolts shooting out in all directions as he swung, finally launching the crescendo of power at Thanos’ chest as he completed the swing, the hammer now parallel with the ground. Stunned by the blast, a huge burn mark on his armour from where the lightning had hit making it smoulder, Thanos fell back, half on the ground as he managed to catch himself this time. Steve needed a stronger attack.

As if acting on primal instinct given to him by the hammer, he knew what he needed to do. Lifting it up to the sky, feeling its draw to the energy in the atmosphere, he let it build up in power, hand tingling as it sucked it all in, pulling it back down when he felt the time was right. A huge lighting strike followed, bigger than any other he had seen this whole fight, swallowing Thanos completely in a waterfall of pure white as it hit him dead on. He yelled out in agony, Steve just being able to make out his arms spazzing through the steady stream of lightning. 

As soon as the last bit of energy disappeared, Steve immediately jumped up and swung Mjolnir down, trying to smash Thanos in the head with the knowledge that he had to overpower Thanos to win, but only hit the hard terrain below, showering himself in dirt and rocks, as Thanos moved incredibly swiftly for someone that had essentially been deep fried alive. Now positioned behind him, his body froze as Thanos’ beefy fingers abruptly grip his throat, hauling him up roughly and cutting off any airflow as he squeezed, before he flipped Steve over and slammed him back first into the ground, his teeth rattling inside his skull with the force. 

Coughing through the burning growing in his throat, he managed to wearily get up on one knee, watching as Thanos picked up his sword, murder in his eyes, and swung his giant blade at Steve’s head. Knowing that if he didn’t move he would be sliced down the middle, he collected enough energy to stand up, rolling back and just barely feeling the blade graze his back as Thanos missed. He heard the telltale crunch of wood splintering as the blade a giant piece of tree trunk instead. Not wasting any time, Steve turned to face him as Thanos pulled out his sword at the same time, swinging it at Steve. His weapon met Steve’s shield instead, banging it forcefully with a metallic thud before he changed his tactics and aimed at the one spot Steve always left uncovered: his legs. 

Slicing through the side of his right knee like butter, Steve sucked in a pained breath, fire spreading across his whole knee as he felt blood seep into his pants. Nevertheless, he remained standing strong, swinging Mjolnir at him in an attempt to land a blow. Thanos had learned from his past mistakes and dropped his sword, grabbing Steve’s arm instead, punching his hand wrapped around the hammer, as he couldn’t grab the hammer itself, sending it airborne. With it went Steve too, hitting the ground but quickly getting back to his feet, bringing his shield up at the same time. It was the one thing always there to save his ass and he was glad he had it. As if reading his thoughts,Thanos picked up his double edged sword again swung it down, this time  _ into  _ his shield, making a gash into the top. 

Thanos had just done what no one else had managed. He had broken his shield. 

Despite this mind numbing fact, he had no time to process anything that was happening as Thanos kept hitting it over and over, each blow chipping away another piece of the shield, and with that another piece of Steve himself, until only the left half remained. Seeing Steve as defeated, Thanos gave one last powerful blow, knocking the shield loose and sending Steve on his hands and knees once again.

Steve knelt there, face looking into the dirt as he tried to collect his strength. He was stunned; his shield had never failed him like this before. It was supposed to be unbreakable. The strongest metal on earth. But then again, that seemed to be a common theme with Thanos; exposing each of their flaws to show them they weren’t perfect. His first attack had made them see how fragile their team really was, the importance of sticking together no matter what because without each other they would lose: and they did. And now here, having already stopped Tony and Thor, Thanos was finally coming for him too, breaking down his last defence and leaving him helpless. 

Despite all this though, the defeat that was seemingly staring him straight in the face, Steve shook his head defiantly. No, he would  _ not _ give in that easy. He had to remember that Thanos hadn’t won yet, that as long as he was standing there was still hope for them all. Just as he was about to resume fighting, standing up to face their enemy again, Thanos swung his sword and jabbed him with the hilt, one again flying through the air where he landed painfully on his back, not moving as his body was finally trying to give up on him, trying to make him stop. 

He lay there on his back, eyes closed, as he thought about if the pain was really worth it. He was alone, he had no shield, Mjolnir wasn’t doing anything to help his fight, and the rest of his friends had probably been buried alive under the ruins of the compound. Every muscle for screaming in pain, his brain desperately trying to tell him to stop,he struggled with the thought to lay there and admit that he had lost. He was destroyed both mentally and physically; Thanos was too much to bear alone. Steve knew he would always win.

He was about ready to give in to his emotions too, let the feeling of helplessness and despair swallow him until he was blissfully unaware of what was going on around him, but a small voice at the back of his head made him reconsider. 

_ “America doesn’t hand you things on a silver platter. Sometimes all she offers is hope.”  _

It was his own words echoing in his mind. That was something he had said to Peggy when she asked him why he was so willing to put his life on the line to save men they didn’t even know were alive when he told her he was going to free the men Hydra had enslaved in their camp. It was the thing he needed to hear at this moment. As long as he had hope, he knew he couldn’t give up. No matter how dark the situation seemed at that very moment, he knew he had to fight until the very end. He’d die at the hands of Thanos if it meant not surrendering to him. 

Thinking he had won, Thanos began his monologuing again, not watching as Steve slowly tried to get up, wincing and gasping as every single one of his muscles gave a sharp cry of pain. 

“In all my years of conquest… violence… slaughter- it was never personal.” He finally turned to look Steve’s pathetic form in the eyes, not an ounce of pity in them. “But I’ll tell you now, what I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet… I’m going to enjoy it, very, very much.”

Behind him, a bright blue wall suddenly appeared, bringing with it hundreds of Thanos’ army. Drop ships began slamming into the ground with the force of a small earthquake as huge beast-like aliens were led out of them on chains, looking like a mixture of an ape and a dog, along with huge tanks slowly rolling on the horizon, Chitauri speedsters and leviathans filling the sky, and of course, Thanos’ ‘children’ bringing up the front of the army line, all ready to fight on their master’s behalf. 

Steve inhaled sharply, knowing that he had no chance whatsoever against that many enemies, but continued to push himself to his feet, clenching his teeth to stop himself from yelling out with the effort it took to move his bone weary body. 

Panting heavily, he looked at the fires still burning brightly around them, the army lined up at the crest of the hill, and Thanos watching him intently with amusement as he took in Steve’s battered form. Steve wasn’t going to let Thanos get the better of him; he was going to go down fighting, his dignity and everything he stood for intact. 

He stared into Thanos’ eyes and tightened the strap of his shield, only half what it had been before as he limped towards the Titan, seeing hundreds more Chitauri leviathans and speedsters fill the sky, making it look like a swarm of insects was approaching from how high Thanos’ ship was looming above. He ignored the overbearing threat, puffing out his chest and holding himself high as he continued to approach. 

He was about 20 feet from where Thanos was standing when his earpiece crackled to life. 

Steve expected it to be Tony or Thor, telling him that he was out of his mind and needed to fall back, but what he didn’t expect was to be met by the rough tones of a voice he hadn’t heard in five years. 

“Steve?”

His jaw slackened in disbelief, eyes growing misty from the wave of emotion crashing over him. He tried to collect himself enough to respond but his words were quickly swept away and drowned in the tide, leaving his jaw gaping open uselessly. The speaker’s voice alone was enough to shock him into silence, but the way he spoke Steve’s name made his throat painfully tight. All of a sudden he was back on an eerily still battlefield, so quiet he could hear the laboured breathing of his friends around him, smell the gruesome smell of ripped flesh from the fight still fresh in the air, and see the haunting sight of ashes piled at his feet. 

“Steve, can you hear me?”

He was back in the grimy streets of Brooklyn, the overwhelming smell of gutter trash in his nostrils and the metallic tang from a split upper lip filling his mouth. Steve could hear the brutish taunts of the bully towering over him as he lay half conscious in an alley, struggling to stand up and throw another punch at the much larger man. Over the throbbing in his ears, Steve could hear pained grunts and wheezes as the man fended off attacks from a new opponent and then the heavy slapping of feet on asphalt as a hand came to rest on his shoulder, a voice berating him over his reckless actions. 

The same voice he could now hear in his earpiece.

“You always were getting yourself into some kind of trouble. Never one to back down from a fight. God, you’re a punk.” 

It was at that moment that Steve realized the cracking was no longer coming from his earpiece, but rather several feet behind him on the left. He turned around, only to be met with a brilliant ring of bright yellow sparks, a stark contrast to the shadows cast by the battle station above. Staring in awe, he watched as the ring spiraled outward to reveal three dark figures, backlit by the golden glow of what could only be Wakanda. The radiance of the sparks illuminated their faces, revealing the regal features of king T’Challa in the centre, the Wakandan princess masked in bright warpaint to his right, and a member of the royal guard to his left. Steve watched on, frozen in shock, as T’Challa gave him a respectful nod, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Turning his head, the King glanced at his sister’s right. 

Steve followed his gaze and realized a fourth figure was coming forward to join them. Even the deep shadows that masked his face couldn’t conceal the mystery person’s identity. It was the same person he had heard through his earpiece: the same person who never failed to have his back when he got himself into a tough spot. 

_ Bucky.  _

Powerful emotions washed over him as he took in his best friend’s, his  _ brother’s _ , face for the first time in five years. A warmth spread through his chest as he realized how much they had been through together, how much love he held for the man in front of him, and how deeply he had missed his friend out of time. His presence, along with the unexpected ones from T’Challa, and the rest of the group, were enough to remind him why he had stood back up to fight. He, and everyone else, were fighting for everyone to come back and now that that had been accomplished, they had to fight to keep it that way. This was their second chance at redemption. Five years ago they had fought Thanos as two broken parts of a whole- and lost. 

But today, they were finally a team. They were going to  _ win.  _

“Jerk,” was all he replied, his voice a whisper as he tried to contain all the emotions threatening to pour out. He knew Bucky heard as he saw him smirk, giving Steve a look that said everything Steve needed to know. 

A second voice broke through the comms, it’s humorous tone pulling him from the gooey emotion of the moment.

“Steady there, Cap. On your left.”

Suddenly a hundred portals opened up, filling the whole area with a warm and welcoming orange glow. With each portal came a new group of heroes, every single person that had been snapped away suddenly in front of him again. He watched as hundreds of heroes flooded the scene, noticing that Tony and Thor had joined as well, having awoken from where they were lying unconscious on the ground and mouths gaping in disbelief at the sight of their fallen friends returning to them. 

Just when Steve thought it couldn’t get any better, a thunderous crash shook the whole area as Scott, in his ginormous form, popped up through the remnants of the compound, making concrete and other debris explode around him as he placed everyone that was inside at the time of the blast on the ground, allowing them to join the ever-growing lineup for their fight against Thanos.  _ This is it  _ he thought in amazement, the energy from his many teammates, his friends and family, filling him up and replacing all the doubt and pain he’d had moments ago, replacing it with only good feelings. 

Gathering in a big group, just as Thanos’ own army had just done, he faced the Titan, relishing the look of utter bewilderment on his face, before he took control. 

Summoning Mjolnir into his hands, his energy back, he uttered two simple words loudly and clearly over the comms, knowing that this was their time.

_ This is the fight of our lives...  _

“Avengers...”

_ And we’re going to win. _

“Assemble!” 


	7. Thor's Section - The Missing Piece

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On to Thor's section! His is very short, with only 1 chapter, so after this we'll be on to Tony's next :)

Steve’s ‘assemble!’ was still echoing through Thor’s ears as he charged, a warrior cry escaping his lips as adrenaline zapped through his veins, gearing both his mind and body for battle. This was the part that he loved. The instant clear mind that came from the clarity of fighting. It was the way his life had gone for the past 1500 years and, under normal circumstances, it was the way he would want it to go for 1500 more. But something was different now. It was like something was disconnected inside of him; the power that used to fuel him was fizzling out, leaving nothing but smouldering embers behind. It left him cold and hollow, confused about where his path was headed. 

Slowing his charge into a walk, he watched carefully as the huge swarm of Avengers dispersed to tackle smaller sections, splitting up to ease the burden Thanos had placed upon them all. Surveying the field further, Thor pushed aside the uneasiness he had begun to feel and charged through a wave of enemies to the left, wielding both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir in turn. 

Steve had given Mjolnir back while all the Avengers had been assembling, giving him a quick, “I work better without it” before turning back to lead the charge. While he had enjoyed Steve wielding her, it was nice to be able to fight with his beloved hammer again after being without her for so long. It brought back the better memories of his time in battle long before he had even set foot on Earth.

Smiling at the thought, he ran, striking every enemy in sight. He watched the bursts of bright lightning and alien guts flying through the air as he pushed his way through. It was satisfying, in a weird kind of way, to watch them be picked apart, coating the ground and air with their dark green blood. While it made the already dreary battlefield much darker and foreboding, it signified that they were one step closer to defeating Thanos and that was all Thor cared about in the end. He was determined to give it everything he had, to pick off every last one of Thanos’ army until there was no one left, leaving him to finish it off with the Titan’s head on a silver platter. This time, he was determined to do it right _._

_Just as Stark said: Whatever it takes._

Continuing through the swarm, striking every Outrider and Chitauri that crossed his path, he thinned the group enough to take out the rest of the stragglers with one blast. Charging Mjolnir, he swung her back down, bringing with it a huge lightning blast that vaporized the remaining Chitauri in a flash of white and blue. 

Making sure there were none left, he relaxed for a moment and began wiping the grime that had accumulated on Stormbreaker off. As the dark green goo was removed from the silver polished blade, a glinting reflection caught his attention. Turning to look behind him, Thor saw a stray group of Outriders circling three Wakandan soldiers off to the side of the main battle. Ready to step back into the fight, he swung Mjolnir in the air in front of him, causing it to charge with electricity as it went, before batting it with Stormbreaker. The force sent the hammer flying in a circle through the group of Outriders, crackling sparks popping with every thud as the hammer struck each monster like dominos, Mjolnir’s brute force sending each alien flying as she went. Having decimated them in one fell swoop, the hammer returned to his hand, in a manner like so many times before, and the three Wakandan soldiers gave him a brief nod of thanks before running off to rejoin the fight. 

Straightening up, Thor wiped the sweat accumulating on his brow before scanning his surroundings. There were multiple fires still burning throughout, the orange glow hazy through the giant clouds of dust from the kickback of each of the fighting heroes. Along with this was the hundreds of bodies tangling with Thanos’ army, the whole scene moving rhythmically like a dance as the heroes ducked and weaved, before placing strategic hits on their foes. Normally, this type of scene would cause his mind and body to fill with the joy of battle, but now, watching everything happen around him, all he felt was an emptiness inside. The only reminiscent spark of his old self he felt deep inside was from the overpowering need to see Thanos dead, but even that was muted. It was like he was disconnected from his actual body, simply watching from the sidelines instead. 

It all caused frustration to build within him, hot anger filling the cold emptiness for a brief moment. Thor knew he needed to keep fighting, that he should be honoured to be a part of a battle as monumental as this one, but his sense of purpose was no longer there. Sure, he wanted to see Thanos’ reign come to an indefinite end, it’s what kept him going despite letting everyone believe it was for the booze. But it also was what held him back. It was like his body knew he was ready for a different path before his mind had even caught up, filling him with unease and leaving him vulnerable in a way he never experienced before. His path in life had never been so unclear. 

_What was going to happen once they defeated Thanos? Where did he belong?_

He shook his head to clear the emotions threatening to swallow him whole. He couldn’t afford to get distracted, especially in a battle as important as this. He had a duty to stop Thanos, he wasn’t ready to let everyone down again. This was something he had to do. It was win or die trying.

Knowing he had been paused for far too long, he swung Mjolnir in his hand a few times, something he always did to get his head focused, before charging into the sea of aliens once more. He gave it his all, smashing aliens with a fury like never before, trying to get himself back on his game. It wasn’t working, however, as with every blow he dealt, each strike of Mjolnir and Stormbreaker against yielding flesh, the emptiness grew larger and his mind began longing for something different.

His mother’s face suddenly flashed into his mind’s eye, the conversation he’d had with her stirring in his brain and throwing him off course before he caught himself. Mjolnir left embedded in the face of a Chitauri soldier, he thought back the advice she had given him only hours before. 

_Thor and Rocket were traversing Asgard’s golden halls, Thor leading the way to where Jane was currently resting. They were on their mission to get the Aether, otherwise known as the reality stone (or, sludge, in its current state), from within her so they would be able to bring everyone that was snapped away back. It was a supposedly simple task. Get the stone and leave, nothing to it._

_Rounding a corner, Thor stopped short, feeling Rocket bump into the back of him with indignant cry._

_“Hey! Watch where you’re going you big lump of-”_

_“Shhh!” Thor cut him off quickly. The reason he had stopped becoming clearer as a group of voices came closer, their footsteps echoing off of the golden stone of Asgard’s great halls._

_Pushing himself against the pillar he was standing next to, he felt Rocket do the same. It was imperative that they weren’t seen. One slip up could mean the difference between saving the universe and dooming it._

_Peaking around the corner to watch the group go past, Thor’s heart seemed to plummet in his chest. In the middle of the group of Asgardian ladies was his mother, as beautiful as he had always remembered. Dressed in her silk emerald green gown, the top portion fashioned in sheets of gold, her Asgardian blue scarf around her neck, with her hair braided elegantly on top of her head, leading down her back. She looked exactly like Freyja, the goddess of beauty, radiant and bold amongst the crowd of other ladies she was in. Her sudden appearance threw him so off guard he didn’t even realize he had moved out from the pillars cover until Rocket grabbed a piece of his sweater and yanked him back into hiding. He collided with the stone roughly, narrowly avoiding being seen as the group passed by only seconds after._

_“What is wrong with you?” Rocked hissed, glaring at Thor from where he had hopped up onto the base of the pillar. “Do you want to be captured? Don’t mind us, we’re only on a mission to save half the universe here.”_

_Still in awe, Thor looked back at the group, watching as the tail of his mother gown disappeared around a corner. It was then that a haunting thought caused lightning to shoot down his spine._ **_It was that day._ **

_“Hello? Earth to Thor?” Rocket added, annoyed when Thor didn’t respond._

_"That was my mother…” he breathed out, “today is the day she dies.”_

_He felt Rocket fidget next to him, but didn’t look away from where his mother disappeared. Rocket’s next words were softer this time, an underlying tone of understanding passing through him now. “Oh, that’s today?”_

_Thor didn’t say anything further as panic began to set in, stealing his ability to form coherent thoughts. Seeing her so alive, knowing what was going to happen, it all became too much. There had been so much death in his life the past 11 years; so much devastation that he could have stopped, and now he was presented with this. His mind began spiralling, his breathing laboured, as the world began to shift in and out of view. He found that he could only suck in short gasps of air, a realization that only sent him further into panic. Black spots began dancing in his eyes. He needed to get out of there- and fast._

_“I can’t- I can’t do this. I need to leave. I never should have come back to this place,” he gasped, frantically looking for an escape, but failing to find one as his mind began to shut down. He couldn’t think straight, nothing was making sense._

_Rocket looked at him with a neutral expression, his voice calm in the wake of Thor’s panic. “Come here.”_

_“N-no! I shouldn’t be here. I think I’m- I’m having one of those panic attacks. This isn’t good rabbit, I need to-”_

_The rest of his ramble was cut off by Rocket cracking his hand across Thor’s face, effectively shocking him out of his spiralling panic._

_The shock was short lived, however, quickly replaced with a flash of anger that caused a warmth to spread through his veins. No one was taking him seriously. The Avengers treated his every move like it was some big joke, making him seem more like a helpless child to be pitied instead of a god that had lived over 1500 years. He had seen battles like they could never imagine and, yet, they acted as if he was incapable of accomplishing even the smallest things, telling him to let them handle everything that needed to be done. And now instead of helping, he was still being treated like his issues were no big deal, just something he should be able to control. Everything was his fault; nothing he could do was right._

_Thor could see that anger was rising in Rocket as well; his eyes were burning with what Thor assumed was the misplaced rage Thanos had put inside of everyone when he had snapped. “Listen, we need to keep it together here. There’s no room for stunts like that, not for people like her. I’m sorry but your mom, she’s gone, really gone. My family and everyone else’s who were snapped away, they’re only kind of gone, and we can bring them back if-”_

_His words fanned the anger inside of him, adding fuel to the smouldering fire within him. “Exactly! Kind of gone. One fancy little snap and poof, everybody’s back to normal- back to being happy. But not me, no, I have to_ **_suffer._ ** _There’s no magic fix to my problem. My mother, my father, my brother, half my people, they’re gone for good. They are_ **_never_ ** _coming back... and it’s entirely my fault.”_

_All at once, Thor felt the most sober he’d been in five years. The heat his words once held seemed to evaporate, dissolving into thin air as the true weight of what he had said seeped in. “I never should have tried to play king, it was never my destiny. Even- even Loki could have been a greater king than I ever was. If I hadn’t strayed from my path, gotten distracted, I could have kept the peace in the realms and none of this would have ever happened. Not only am I now a failure, but I’m nothing but a loser, a joke, and that is a title I deserve.”_

_Something seemed to change in Rocket at that. His rigid body position relaxed slightly and the fire in his eyes grew cold and distant. “Not everything is about you, you know. We all have our backstory.”_

_He paused, seeming to go back to a dark place in his life before he sighed and continued, more somber than before. “I never knew who I was. I was created to be something, then designed and tortured until only a monster of their creation remained. I never asked for that, but instead of following some path they wanted me to follow, instead of staying a raccoon or whatever that monster they made me was, I found my own destiny. I found a family and, with that dumb band of idiots, made my life something I wanted instead of something I thought it should be. Not leaving it to fate or any of that garbage.”_

_He shook his head before continuing in a gentler tone. “I understand you’re upset about your mom, I really do, but standing here isn’t going to do any good for any of us. What happened to her has already been set in place. But, here and now, me and you have a chance to do something good- something right. Getting the reality stone brings us one step closer to undoing what Thanos did. We may not be able to help your mom, but we can sure as hell try to help half of the universe.”_

_Rocket shrugged, looking to Thor with a knowing stare, “And hey, I might not know if I’d ever be a good raccoon. But I sure as hell know I’m a damn good rabbit.”_

_Thor had never heard him get so personal before. It made him question his own situation. The reality that he wasn’t alone in his suffering was comforting, but an intense sadness washed over him still at the prospect of changing who he was. There was still a masked darkness within, and he still felt a deeply conflicted within. Everything was so much to process, he didn’t even know where to begin. Not wanting to hold them up any further, though, he decided to put on a smile and move forward with their mission._

_“I suppose you’re right.”_

_“Of course I am. Now can we please get a move on before someone else comes along?”_

_“Yes, let’s go.”_

_Watching Rocket hop down from the base of the pillar and continue down the hall, Thor moved to follow when a tinkling sound echoed off of the high ceilings; it was his mother’s laugh. The sound stirred something within him, a deep desire to seek her comfort. Too strong to ignore, the turbulence he was feeling within too overwhelming to concentrate on anything else, he decided to go searching for her. Quickly changing direction, he darted off to the left and down the hall his mother had disappeared down just minutes ago, not even sparing Rocket a last glance as he left him behind. His mother was too important._

_Stumbling desperately down the halls, searching for the one presence he needed more than anything in the world, he was blinded by an onslaught of light as the corridor he had just walked down spit him out into the courtyard. Blinking rapidly, his eyes adjusted and he noted with amazement that he was in Asgard’s garden. This was the home of the Watchtower tree, the only descendant of the cosmic tree which held the Nine Realms together, the great Yggdrasil._

_Spinning around as he walked to take it all in, he jumped when he suddenly backed into something solid. Turning to see what it was, he was filled with a thousand emotions at once._

_There, glowing in the afternoon sun, was his mother’s face._

_Her initial pleasant face of greeting morphed into confusion as she took him in._

_“Thor, dear, what are you wearing?” Her voice was as smooth as honey; pleasant and warm, making Thor’s heart ache with the longing to stay here with her forever. Dazed, he just stared, until he realized she was waiting on him to answer._

_Stammering a reply, he began backing away so she couldn’t get too close of a look. “W-what? Oh, these? I always wear these. They’re my favourite.”_

_Her expression only deepened, her brows furrowing as she studied him for a moment before she delicately reached a hand up to cup his face._

_“What’s wrong with your eye?”_

**_His eye._ ** _He had totally forgotten that they were different colours, so used to the way he looked after the events of Hela’s rampage during Ragnarok._

_“Uh, yes my eye. Well you know me, always in battle. Probably got hit on my last trip across the realms…”_

_His excuse fell flat as he watched her face. A kind and understanding smile was spreading._

_“You’re not the Thor I know at all, are you?”_

_He stayed silent, knowing nothing he could say would convince her otherwise. She was a smart woman and not one easily lied to, the many failed attempts of his childhood providing all the proof needed to see that it never worked. He and Loki were never able to get away with anything, his mother always being one step ahead. Like one time when they were playing in the Vault, a place they knew they weren’t supposed to be alone, when they knocked over an old vase sitting on a pedestal, both of them watching in horror as it fell to the ground and smashed into thousands of tiny pieces. They had run out, terrified about what Odin would say, when they bumped into their mother. She had asked them what they were up to, they both replied nothing, but she simply smiled and asked if they had been in the Vault. Knowing lying would get them nowhere, they ended up telling her the truth. To their surprise, she had only smiled and told them she never liked that vase before cautioning them on not playing there again. Thor had only learned what the item actually was much later in life. Somehow he had gotten on the topic of it while speaking with his mother. She had laughed and told him they had both done her a favour that day. The vase had been a gift from the Dwarves of Nidavellir as Odin began restoring peace in the realms. It had never been to his mother’s taste, but knowing it was rude to refuse, she had instructed for it to be put in the Vault instead, out of sight under the guise of it being kept safe. It made him happy to think about, but that had been a long time ago. He was a very different person now than he was back then._

_“The future hasn’t been kind to you has it darling?”_

_It was like the dam he had built burst. All the restraint he had once held was undone, leaving nothing but urgent longing for his mother’s comfort. Tears built in his eyes, blurring his vision, as his voice cracked with emotion. “It hasn’t.”_

_“It’s okay honey, I’m here.”_

_Her easy acceptance brought a comforting warmth to his heart, his usually stoic exterior totally disappearing in her presence. She was the one person he was truly able to talk about his emotions with. “I really need to talk to you mom.”_

_“We can talk. I will always be here for my sons.”_

_Not holding anything back, he gripped his mom in a tight hug, squeezing her close to him. She smelled like rose petals, just as she always had, and it immediately soothed his distressed mind and soul. He felt like he was a child again, his mother comforting him in the garden after a fight with Loki. It filled him with peace, something he hadn’t felt since her death so many years ago._

_Silently, she led him over to a nearby bench where he proceeded to tell her everything that had happened up to his failings with Thanos. She sat patiently the entire time, listening silently to his story. By the time he was done he was emotionally exhausted, but liberated in a way he couldn’t describe. He had gone into more detail with her now then he had with anyone else the past five years._

_Finishing, he watched her reaction carefully. Taking a moment to process everything he had said, she sat back and folded her hands neatly in her lap. Worried that she would disapprove, call him a failure like everyone else, he was about to say he should probably leave when she turned to face him, an easy smile on her face._

_“Well it seems you’ve done something right, seeking counsel from the wisest person in Asgard,” she joked, clearly her attempt to lighten the mood._

_Thor smirked humourlessly, letting out a big sigh of relief. His mother always tried to bring the best out of every situation._

_“Although that doesn’t make you any less of a failure,” she added on, no bite to her words. It was as if she were stating a simple fact of life._

_Her response, however, had thrown Thor off causing him to reel in surprise; he had not been expecting that from her. “Well, I think that’s a little harsh coming from my own mother-” he retorted, frustration rising in his words._

_Her smile deepened as she reached out to clasp his hands in hers. “But do you know what that makes you? Just like everyone else.”_

_He ripped his hands from where they were entwined with hers and stood up with a huff. Turning on his heel, he regarded her with a newfound fury. “But I’m not supposed to be like everyone else! I am a god and therefore have a duty to protect those in need. I failed at being who I’m supposed to be and there's nothing left for me to do.”_

_Standing up as well, she set her calm gaze onto him, not at all disturbed by his outburst. Thor figured she had had to deal with many outbursts like this with his father, their temper being something they had in common._

_“Everyone fails at ‘who they’re supposed to be’ Thor, it’s part of the journey. Being who you’re meant to be is no linear path; it's impossible to find a direct course to the answers you seek. And sometimes things happen on the way that make us question our path, whether we’re fit for where it is heading, but that only helps us grow to be even better than we were before. We must take the ups and down, no matter how big or small, and learn from them because that is what makes a true leader. No one is infallible; not me, not your father, and, yes, not even you, mighty god of Thunder,” she mocked lovingly, sending him a look that meant she knew what he was thinking before continuing, “Having failures in life is what shapes us to be who we are, and, as a result, helps us become a stronger person because of it.”_

_While he knew she was right, her speeches always helped to soothe the part of him he had left exposed for so long, his worries couldn’t help but flood his mind._

_“But, how can I continue when I failed to keep my people safe? What am I if not a great king? I failed as a warrior- I have nothing else.”_

_“‘I’d rather be a good man than a great king’. That was you that said that, was it not?”_

_“Yes, but-”_

_“Your father set you on a path to be a great king, but do not mistake, your father has made some colossal errors on his own path to greatness. His siege to conquer the realms, it took him down a very dark path, one I was afraid I could never pull him back from. Asgard was built on a throne of deceit and bloodshed-”_

_“Yet you love him still?”_

_“Yes, I love him. Loving someone does not mean you agree with everything they have done. I am in love with the man of today. The one that watches over the realms and tries to keep the peace. He has atoned for what he has done, he regrets his actions, and that is all that matters to me. He set a different path for himself and is nothing but a better man for it.”_

_“How do I know where the better path is? How do you know I won’t follow in father’s dark footsteps? We are both reckless fools who lost their eye in a rampage to do what was right, only leaving destruction in their wake.”_

_His mother stepped closer to him, placing her right hand on his chest. “I know because I see the good in you Thor. Your heart is pure and you want nothing but the best for everyone you care about. Your path is to be a good man and with this the great king will follow. They are not as separate as you might think. Follow what your heart tells you and I know you will do great things. You are a natural leader Thor, let your instincts lead the way.”_

_For the first time in years, he felt no sadness. Instead, he felt light, full of hope, for a future with his people. His mother believed in him, so he should believe in himself too. It was time for him to turn his life around, change the path he had set for himself. He knew what he had to do._

_Leaning in, he squeezed his mother in another tight hug, rogue tears cascading down his cheeks, the pain of his past failures falling with them. “I really missed you mom.”_

_She squeezed back, pulling him into her embrace. “I will always be with you.”_

_They broke apart, both smiling when a thought suddenly occurred to Thor. “I have to tell you something. Today-”_

_“Is as normal a day as any. This is about fixing your future, not mine.”_

_Just as he was about to reply, a clang sounded in the distance. They both turned to face the open corridor when Rocket came tearing through, Aether secured in the remover device in his paws._

_“Thor, there you are! I’ve got the-” He stopped short when he saw who Thor was standing next to. “Oh, uh, hi. You must be mom.”_

_“That would be me,” she replied pleasantly, showing no sign of confusion about Rocket’s appearance._

_“I hate to break up the reunion, but I’ve got the thing. We gotta go. Now.”_

_Turning to his mother in a panic, she placed a hand on his face to sooth him. “You will be fine. I believe in you. Now go and be the man you’re supposed to be.”_

_Thor nodded firmly. “I love you mom.”_

_“I love you.”_

_She removed her hand from his face and stepped back smiling. “Oh, and maybe eat a salad or two darling. They’re good for you.”_

_He chuckled and turned to face Rocket._

_“Okay, we really gotta go now. Those guards will be here any minute.”_

_Hearing Rocket input the coordinated back home, an idea flashed across his mind. “Wait!”_

_Impatient, Rocket shot him a glare, his paw hovered over the button to send them back. “What is it now?”_

_Sticking his arm out, he summoned a power within him that he hadn’t used in years. Vaguely he heard Rocket ask what was happening and his mom give a reply, but he paid them no attention. All his focus was on the task at hand. Reaching within himself, he drew on his core power, envisioning the presence that had been absent for so long. He gasped as he felt a connection along with an immediate pull._ **_It was working._ ** _Summoning all his strength, he concentrated on the feeling and pulled, the tethered presence growing closer any second until a familiar handle slammed into his hand, igniting his body in a rush of electricity. Staring at Mjolnir in his left hand, he felt stronger than he ever had._

_“I’m still worthy!” he laughed, giving the hammer a toss and deftly catching it in his waiting hand._

_"Oh boy,” he heard Rocket grumble, but with an undercurrent that was not so cynical, before their quantum suits activated._

_Setting his body, he stared at his mothers face one last time. “Goodbye mom.”_

_“Goodbye love.”_

Flashing back to the present, Mjolnir returning to his right hand and Stormbreaker in his left, he felt a new sense of purpose. It was as if the world had become clearer; he knew what he needed to do, who he needed to be. Resolving himself to fight for his people, he glanced over the sea of heroes and saw that they were struggling. They were in desperate need of a leader and that was exactly what he was going to do.

While he had set his mind, a looming thought hit him like a brick. Who would fill his role of protecting the nine realms? How could he protect his people without abandoning the role he filled in the universe? These concerns, however brief, were enough to cause him to falter slightly, allowing a group of Outriders to slam into him from behind, sending Stormbreaker flying. Twisting his body into a calculated spin, he narrowly missed the razor edge of an Outrider’s claws as it reached out for his exposed bicep. The direction of spin brought Thor back around to aim a kick at the offending beast’s head, the blow sending it flying backward as he simultaneously brought Mjolnir up to strike the other two down.

Satisfied he had dealt with the threat, he didn’t notice the alien that had broken off from the group until it was on top of him, making him drop Mjolnir and sending him face first into the ash covered dirt below. Managing to turn his face to the side, he could only listen as a metal thunk sounded and, the pressure released off of his back. Propping himself up on his knees, he saw the shadow of Stormbreaker on the ground in front of him.

“I thought I said you could have the little one Rogers.”

A hand, small and definitely not that of Steve’s appeared in his face. “Good thing I’m not ‘Rogers’ then.”

Looking up, Valkyrie stood before him, Stormbreaker clutched easily in her left hand while she kept her right one extended to help Thor up. Grabbing onto her extended hand, she helped pull him to his feet, but all he could do was stare at her in wonder. It was like all the answers to his problems had been solved the minute he saw her face. She was his missing link.

Not knowing his internal struggles, she moved to give Stormbreaker back, but Thor held out his hand. “No, you keep it.”

“What? Did that alien knock your common sense away as well? We’re in a war here Thor, you need your axe.”

This was his path. His mother’s words were echoing in his ears. He didn’t need the axe, or his hammer, to be who he was. His power came from within. He controlled who he was. 

“You’re telling me that you can get through all of that without it.”

Before he could reply, motion out of the corner of his eye grabbed his attention. Not even turning to look, he caught the approaching Chitauri by the throat, summoning lightning from his core and watching as tendrils of light shot down his outstretched arm. Spasming in his grip, the alien writhed as the electricity fried his brain until he finally stopped moving and went limp in his hand, smoke pouring off of its body. Discarding the alien on the ground, he looked back at Valkyrie with a smug smile.

“I think I’ll manage.”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled good naturedly. Nodding once in finality, he turned and swung Mjolnir, lifting himself off the ground in a swarm of lightning towards his people, leaving nothing but an amused Valkyrie in his wake. 

Landing next to his people, the ground shook with his force alerting him that he was there to help. Seeing the huge swarm of outriders circling the Asgardians, he threw the hand clutching Mjolnir into the air, summoning the electricity particles to form high above. Feeling the rush of power and the growing sounds of thunder, he pushed as much force as he could into the growing storm, feeling the clouds come together in a dark mound. Swinging Mjolnir, he caused the clouds to swirl, rumbling thunder and lightning dancing together to form a huge storm above.

Bruce, who happened to be fighting a group of Outriders near him, couldn’t help but comment on the growing storm with a grin spreading wide on his face. “Oh man, I’ll never get tired of seeing this!”

Smirking, Thor continued to pool the storm until he felt it reach its peak. Knowing it was ready, he thrust Mjolnir downwards, sending a ring of lighting with it. Each thick strand hit the ground with earth shattering force, blinding everyone in a mixture of brilliant white light and a shower of dirt and ash. Releasing the power, he felt the storm dissipate as quick as it had come, leaving the ground to settle. As the haze cleared, he saw his people, perfectly intact, in the centre of the ring the lighting had made, nothing but cracked earth and piles of ash in the place the outriders had been before. Regarding his people, they approached with astonished, but proud, looks on their faces. 

“All right! The lord of Thunder is here to lead the Asgardians once more!” 

Turning to face Korg, Thor smiled appreciatively before turning back to address the group as a whole. 

“Ready?” 

The one word was enough. Raising their weapons in response, the group of Asgardians looked to him with gleaming eyes. He figured they could sense a new energy coming off of him, something more determined and focused than before. He was ready to fight. 

He was ready to _lead_.

Joining them, he raised Mjolnir into the air and screamed, “For Asgard!” 

Joining his battlecry, the voices of the Asgardian army rose in a wall of unity and they all began running, heading down the path they were meant to go on. As Thor ran, he couldn’t help but give one final chant, this one quieter and for his ears alone. 

“For Loki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *deep Asgardian voice* you will give me all your comments Earthlings or suffer a fate worse than death!
> 
> Erm, well, hope everyone liked this chapter and will leave any comments down below.


	8. Tony's Section - Kid?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony's chapter has arrived! While this one is short, the other ones will be longer and might just feature everyone's favourite Crime Fighting Spider :D 
> 
> Hope you enjoy and leave your likes and comments (if you have any) below!

The roar of the battle was deafening to Tony, ironically made even worse by the hum of his advanced sound filters that were working harder than normal to sort all the external noise. 

It had only been a few short moments since Dr. Strange had opened up all the portals, bringing their fallen friends back into the fight against Thanos, yet it was nothing short of chaotic. Flying through the battlefield, he had to duck and weave around the many smaller battles happening between the Avengers and Thanos’ army. Everywhere he turned someone was going face to face with the many aliens swarming the battlefield, as the ground was littered with Thanos’ troops. Tony figured their only purpose was simply to take down as many people as they could before being blown to hell themselves. 

The other and more prominent pain in his ass came in the form of the aliens wreaking havoc from above. Chitauri speeders and Necrocrafts were swooping and spiralling in unpredictable patterns to target the airborne Avengers as well as those on the ground. However, that wasn’t even the biggest problem, both literally and figuratively. The sky was also littered with dozens of Chitauri Leviathans, the huge whale-like creatures from New York, which were covered in thick armour that was nearly impossible to penetrate. Tony especially hated them because of their tendency to touch down and destroy everything in their path using a simple flick of their tail. With these ridiculously powerful entities tearing through the battlefield along with the rest of Thanos’s horde, it all made for a fight of disastrous proportions.

_I cannot wait until this is over. I’ve had enough space for a lifetime thank you very much._

Swerving suddenly, Friday’s impeccable timing pulled Tony from the path of an airborne alien body, saving him from the collision. Squinting down at where the offending beast had come from, he saw a fight going on between Bucky, Sam and two dozen ground Chitauri. Watching them fight, he saw Sam circling above, trying to hit as many as he could from his vantage point in the sky, while Bucky was using a large chunk of concrete to his advantage, backing himself up to it to cover his six while he fired his Paratrooper at the impeding swarm below. Together they were doing a good job at fending off the attack. Whenever one would get too close to Bucky, Sam would swoop down and stab it through with his newly fashioned wings, courtesy of T’Challa. The new and improved wings were much stronger than before and a lot lighter which allowed Sam to easily maneuver himself and slice through the alien’s flesh like it was nothing. Tony would know, given that he scoured all the sketches and suit designs after Wakanda gave him access to their technology database about twenty-eight hours ago to do preliminary research for the Starklet; old policies surrounding secrecy tend to die fast when the fate of the universe is on the line. 

Not worried about them getting overwhelmed, Tony merely shook his head in mock annoyance and continued to fly over the battlefield, scanning to see if anyone else needed help. If there was anything he could do for his fellow Avengers, anything at all that could turn the tide of their fight, he would do it.

Filtering through the hundreds of bodies fighting below he managed to spot Bruce, who stuck out above the rest, tackling a smaller group of enemies off to the side. Wanting to check in on him after all that had happened with the snap, Tony changed course and headed to where he was fighting. 

“Hey, Bruce, buddy, how’re we doing?” he asked as he landed next to his newly giant friend, intent on lending him a hand. 

He watched as Bruce ripped the head off the alien nearest to him and threw it and the severed body to the ground. Moving quickly for his size, he swept his left arm out to the side and clothes-lined two aliens approaching his flank, causing them to crumple to the ground, while simultaneously nailing a single alien on his right with his bad fist. Bruce cringed as burnt flesh made contact with the hard skin of the alien, Tony’s own arm aching in sympathy just watching it happen.

“Hey Tony, not bad,” he grimaced, clutching his hurt arm in his good one. “I’ll be a hell of a lot better once we beat Thanos though.” 

Tony did a quick calculation with the help of Friday and sent off the exact amount of grenades he needed to kill the stragglers of the small hoard, watching all the aliens explode before replying. “Yeah you and me both pal. You good from here?” 

He wanted to make sure that Bruce would be okay before he took off to help the others. It was impossible to imagine the pain he was dealing with right now. Only twenty short minutes ago he had snapped everyone back and his right arm was basically fried to the point of being useless, the skin now a deep black that extended all the way up to his neck instead of its usual healthy green. 

“Yeah I’m good, no need to worry about me.” 

Despite the certainty in his words, Tony still couldn’t help but worry for him. Yes, Bruce could likely hold his own and he was smart enough to know when he needed help, but the guy had just used six infinity stones and _survived_. Being too careful wasn’t possible.

“Right. Take it easy out here Bruce, I want you to come out the other side of this thing,” he said tensely, hoping that the half-Hulk knew how much he meant it, and with that final statement he blasted off into the battle once more. 

There was so much going on on the ground that it was hard to process everything, even with Friday as backup. The aliens were attacking from every direction; everywhere he turned they seemed to be popping out at him. The aliens, which he deemed “alien space dogs” for lack of a better term, would flank you from the ground along with the normal ground Chitauri, while the speedsters would swoop in from above, making it so he had to be on constant high alert of an attack; and of course there was Thanos and his main army. Tony had almost forgotten about the annoying worshippers of Thanos, or his “Children” as he called them, which was a gross misuse of the term. The already defeated freaks were back thanks to time travel shenanigans and they were more than ready to wreak havoc on anything and everything. Squidward was part of this crew in the distance, raising debris off the ground in a vortex before sending it plummeting to the ground, causing more things to break loose and go flying through the air. 

The chaos was playing up the lagging of his sensors and giving Tony a hard time, the stutter in their operations not helping him choose where he was needed next. The decision was ultimately made for him though when he spied a huge horde of the alien dog creatures running along the perimeter of the battle, looking for some unlucky soul to inconvenience. Figuring he should get to them before they got to anyone else, he circled around and made his way over to the group where he began blasting each alien in turn, dark blood and parts of aliens flying everywhere, including all over himself. Though with each alien he obliterated it became even harder to see his next target, he didn’t let that stop him. Using Friday, he was easily able to figure out where each alien was going to strike next, like he had done when he went toe to toe with Cap, allowing him to be one step ahead. Using this to his advantage, he destroyed the swarm pretty quickly and was just about to blast the last one when he was blindsided from behind and slammed into a huge piece of concrete. 

Recovering from the blow quickly, he turned to face the attacker while simultaneously aiming his double fist cannons at whatever new threat had approached. He was taken by surprise when he was met with the largest Child of Thanos, the one that had fought alongside Squidward five years ago, looming over him with the same murderous intent in its eyes. It moved to pound Tony once again and he started charging his blasters in response, but stopped when it suddenly froze in its tracks and went flying backwards, as if something had picked it up and flung it. There on the ground, it was instantly crushed by one of Scott’s ginormous feet as he passed by. 

Wondering what could have caused it to go flying, Tony looked up and froze. In the distance was the silhouette of someone he never thought he would see again. The same someone who had rescued him from that hideous creature the first time. His heart thudding in his chest, Tony watched as the figure quickly made its way to where he was still lying on the ground, helmet retracting as they approached, revealing a face he had believed he’d lost forever. 

_Kid?_

The kid who had vanished in his arms five long years ago, the one Tony had lost, was finally back and in front of him once again. The same light brown hair pushed back from his forehead, the same wide brown eyes, and the same youthful smile which stretched a mile wide.

_Peter._

Tony quickly retracted his own helmet to get a better look at him as the kid rushed to his side, extending a hand to help him up.

“Hey, woah. Holy cow!” Peter exclaimed as he pulled Tony to his feet.

“You will not believe what's going on! Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty?”

Tony just stared in awe. He had missed Peter so much, and now he was here in front of him again, rambling like always, as if nothing had ever happened. It was something Tony never thought he’d get to listen to again. The kid’s tendency to go on and on when he was excited or nervous about something, while sometimes annoying in the past, had never sounded better. It meant the kid was _back_ , meant he was _alive_ , and that was a reality Tony never thought would be possible.

“-And I must have passed out cause I woke up and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there, right? And he was all like ‘It’s been five years. Come on, they need us.’ And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time…”

Tony slowly started moving towards him. The kid had been gone for five years and Tony could hardly comprehend what he was saying. His mind was just filled with the same message over and over. _He’s back. He’s alive._

He didn’t even know he mumbled the reply, “He did? Oh no” as he was way more focused on bringing him in for a bone-crushing hug. This hug was confirmation that what was happening in front of him was actually happening, that he wasn’t going to pass through Peter like he’d experienced in so many dreams during the long five years without him. 

Tony sighed in content as he instead made solid contact with the kid. The last time Peter had been in his arms, Tony had had to witness him slowly turn to dust while he had tried so hard to hold on to him, to keep him from disappearing. He feared that he’d never be able to hold Peter like this again and being able to do it now was giving him strength that he didn’t know he needed. He felt like he had everything he needed to face Thanos now, to burn this whole place down.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked, arms awkwardly hovering over Tony as if he was just as unsure whether or not this was really happening. 

Tony had been all too ready to brush off their first hug as a simple gesture to open the car door for the kid, and their second if you would call it that was a desperate attempt to hold onto one another, but this one had none of the previous ambiguity. As Tony’s grip tightened, Peter seemed to understand and wrapped his arms around Tony’s back, his weight and warmth seeping in despite the armour separating them. 

“Oh, this is nice,” he heard Peter murmur, his arms becoming more certain in their grip around the older man.

In a surge of relief that flooded Tony’s senses he almost planted a fatherly kiss on the kid’s forehead like he had with Morgan so many times before, and even ventured the thought of reaching up to tousle his hair, but changed his mind before he did so and morphed the actions into a pat on the back. He didn’t think that this was the right time to do it; he had just gotten Peter back, and he didn’t know if it was too forward. While it had been five long years for Tony, Peter had appeared to pop back to that dreadful moment five years ago as if no time had passed at all. To him nothing had changed. He decided to instead just keep holding him like he was afraid he would disappear at any moment. He probably would have stayed there forever too, the noises of battle being drowned out by the fact that Peter had shown up in his life again, but the moment was cut short due to a sudden yell nearby.

“Are you two finished? Giant alien battle happening here!” 

Tony's eyes shot open. It was Clint. Refusing to let go of Peter just yet, Tony simply pivoted his head to face him.

“Hey, John Wick, we have no idea how this battle is going to go, so just give me one moment of peace with _my kid_ here, okay?” He was aware that Clint had a point, but nothing seemed to matter except Peter now.

He felt Peter tense in his arms at the sentiment, only to relax further into his embrace. Resting his temple against Peter’s once more, Tony smiled softly. This was _his_ kid. It was a concept he had come to grips with four years ago, referring to him that way over and over in his mind, but saying it out loud made him even more certain that it was true. Before then, Tony had always wondered what was so special to him about the kid. What all those unnamed feelings of pride and worry that flickered in his chest whenever he was around meant.

He never fully understood it until Morgan was born, the vivid details flooding back to him. Tony remembers kneeling beside Pepper’s hospital bed and having her wriggling body placed in his arms for the first time, watching as her small, silken fingers wrapped around his large calloused ones. The physical sensation was one that was delicately foreign, but the emotions that shocked through his system were ones that he had felt before. Ones that had been with him as he lectured about a ferry being split in half and when he’d used his arm as a sword, knighting a new Avenger. Ones which had accompanied that mop of light brown hair and a youthful smile. 

_Peter…_

_The tears that Tony had been holding back the whole time Pepper was in labour finally spilled over at the realization. Tony leaned down to sprinkle kisses all over Morgan’s tiny face, babbling loudly in between kisses._

_“Hello little Miss- I love you so much and I’m- never letting anything- bad ever happen to you.”_

_After the flurry of kisses had subsided, Tony dipped his face down impossibly lower to whisper so that only Morgan could hear, his tears dripping on her forehead._

_“I wish you could’ve met him.”_ ****

He also wished he would have figured it out sooner, not wasted so much time fumbling for the right label. He now knew in his heart that Peter was his son, blood relation be damned. May had dibs, he would never argue with that, but Tony had become his dad the moment he set foot in the Parker apartment. _If only I had figured it out in time, I could’ve told him before everything, before Thanos._

But that didn’t matter anymore. His kid was _here_ , in his arms once more. 

“Yeah, yeah,” came the annoyed reply, but Tony saw the soft smile that crept onto Clint’s face. 

As a newly minted father of two (three if you count that Harley kid- nope, Tony was not ready for that kind of responsibility yet) he could understand that look as one of paternal understanding. Being a parent, the feeling of just wanting to get back to his kids and wife must be on the forefront of Clint’s mind as well. Clint had also had to deal with the manner in which they were taken so abruptly from him five years before, just as Peter had been taken from Tony. If anything it was worse for him because he hadn’t even been involved in the fight with Thanos the first time, being on house arrest after the events of the Sokovia Accords, so he had to have had no idea what was going on. Tony had heard the stories of how his loss had sent Clint on a path that he regretted deeply. Having to face the fact that he would never see his family again took him on a self destructive mission where he didn’t care about his outcome because he didn’t have anything else to lose. Something, Tony realized, that could have easily happened to himself if he didn’t have Pepper and subsequently, Morgan, to keep him grounded. He could practically see these emotions flooding Clint’s mind as he watched Tony reunite with his own kid. 

He added another entry to the list of reasons why they had to win: _so Clint can be reunited with his family too._

However, realizing that it was about time they rejoined the battle, Tony pried himself off of Peter and placed his hands on the kid’s shoulders to regard him at an arm’s length. There had to be some quick ground rules set in place before anything else happened, so it was time to put the sappiness aside and get serious. If only until this was all over.

“Listen kid,” he regarded him closely, “you stick close to me and don’t leave my sight, got it? No striking off on your own this time, no being the hero.”

“But, Mr. Stark,” Peter began, “I can handle-”

“Uh uh. There’s no room for 'buts' here, _Peter_ ,” he interjected, pushing the last word hardest. 

The kid’s eyes widened, clearly taken aback at Tony using his _real_ name, not even the shortened and already intimate ‘Pete’. Tony wouldn’t normally use it, he knew it was a bit of a big step, but he needed to make sure the kid would listen. Levelling his eyes with Peter’s, Tony spoke.

“There’s no arguing. Stick close to me and that’s final.” 

It was simple, a very textbook dad response, but he said it with all the conviction he could put into each syllable. This was not something to be negotiated, no matter how much the kid thought he could make a good counter argument. If he could keep Peter by his side, the easier it would be to make sure he was not out looking for trouble or trouble was looking for him. It was a minefield out there, and there was no way that he was losing Peter after he just got him back. Even if he had to use a leash on him like a misbehaving toddler, he was going to keep Peter safe.

Somehow the kid still wanted to argue, pulling himself up tall and opening his mouth, but with one last look from Tony he shrunk from the challenge, nodding his head and regenerating his helmet. Doing the same, they both sprung back into the fight against Thanos and his army. His heart hurt from being so tough on him, but after blaming himself for five years for the kid disappearing he wasn’t about to take anymore chances. Peter’s survival was number one on his list, above Bruce and even above Clint. His kid would make it out of this battle alive. 

_Whatever it takes._


	9. Hell or High Water

Tony found himself flying through the air once again, this time with Peter not far below him. The kid was swinging and swerving through the obstacle course which was the battlefield, latching onto every standing pillar and half-disintegrated chunk of the base he could find and webbing up as many of the alien freaks as he could. 

Watching him for a second longer, Steve’s voice suddenly cut through the comms.

“Does anyone else hear that noise? Tony, are the comms broken?”

Clint piped up too. “Yeah! It sounds like static or something. I thought I had finally gone crazy.”

 _Noise?_ While Tony hadn’t heard anything, it couldn’t hurt to check things out. Their comms were their only way of communicating with one another across the battlefield. Without them, no one would be able to help out anyone in need.

“Friday? Are the comms working?”

Taking a moment to run a diagnostic, Tony heard a beep before she replied. “All communication devices are fully functional boss.”

Frowning in concern, Tony started to ask her to reboot the system when he suddenly heard the noise Steve and Clint were talking about.

_PHSSST!_

“There it was again! Tell me you heard it that time Tony.” 

“Yeah, I heard it Cap. I’m going to reboot the-” He stopped himself as he had a sudden realization. He _recognized_ that noise. 

Concerned that he had stopped talking, Steve asked, “Tony?” 

Laughing at the source, he explained what was happening. 

“Don’t worry about it guys, that’s just Spider-Man. When he gets really focused he starts making a sound effect every time he shoots his web. I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it and I’ve learned to tune it out. I’ll talk to him.”

Tony heard both Steve and Clint laughing before they cut off their connection to him. Sending a private message to Peter’s comms, he informed him of what he was doing.

“Hey Pete? You’re making the noise again _and_ you forgot to shut off your comm connection. Currently, you’re broadcasting it to every hero on the field.” 

“Oh man, really?! Sorry Mr. Stark, I’ll turn that off now.”

Chuckling at Peter’s innocence, and having figured out what the mystery noise was, Tony began scanning the surrounding areas to monitor who needed help and what areas needed tackling when a thought suddenly dawned on him. The interaction had made him remember how young Peter really was. This was a huge battle and it was easy to get lost in the scope of it all, especially for someone as small as Peter compared to everything else going on. It was important that he had his six covered, even if Tony got caught up in the fight and couldn’t physically check in.

“Fri, keep tabs on Peter’s condition through his suit for me would you? Anything happens to him, anything at all, I want to know. Got it?” He couldn’t be too careful. He never wanted to go through the process of losing him ever again.

“Got it.” 

If Tony didn’t know any better he would have said she sounded amused at his request. However, she did as he asked, as a small series of readings immediately appeared at the bottom of his helmet’s screen display, showing Peter’s body temperature, oxygen level and blood pressure. He could also hear a faint heartbeat through his speakers, the steady thrumming easing his nerves considerably. Checking on each of his vitals in turn, Tony noticed that they were all good if not slightly elevated, but that was normal considering the physical exertion and stress that came along with a battle like this. 

He was about to decide where they should go next when Friday sent an alert to his screen about a disturbance she picked up in the distance. He looked over and saw that a huge cloud formation was rapidly swelling in the sky, bringing deep rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning. Then, as the power had reached its peak, a huge flash resonated across the whole area, illuminating the hundreds of heroes fighting below and blinding Tony momentarily. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he noted that as soon as it had appeared it was gone and they were once again thrown into the foreboding gloom cast from the immense ship above. Much like thunder that normally followed such a strike came, instead, a thunderous battle cry that echoed across the land. It was this that made him realize what had happened. _That_ _must have been Thor. Asgardians and their theatrical entrances._

Shaking his head in fake annoyance, he continued across the war zone where his scanners once again picked up a big battle happening on the ground. Honing in on it, Tony saw Doctor Strange fighting a group of aliens in the distance. It looked like Strange had everything under control, but he knew he had to have a talk with him to make sure that this was it and that they had a chance to win this fight. He didn’t think he could handle any more losses, and he sure as hell knew that the universe couldn’t either. If Thanos was true to his word, which Tony had no doubt he was, losing this time meant that there would be no universe left to avenge. 

“Pete!” he yelled down to the kid, who currently was swinging through the aliens below. “Listen, I’ve got to go have a word with the wizard. You stay here and fight as many of those alien freaks as you can, but you leave if you’re getting overwhelmed you hear me? I will be right back.” He couldn’t help but mother him, the thought of leaving him alone in battle giving him even more anxiety.

“Copy that Mr. Stark!”

With one final glance at Peter who was advancing towards a couple of stray aliens, Tony took off towards Strange. He hated having to leave the kid on his own, but he had to have faith that he’d be able to handle himself for the time being. Besides, he had Friday keeping tabs on him through Karen in his spidey suit, so if anything started to go wrong he’d be back at his side in an instant. Nothing was going to happen to his kid, Tony would make sure of that.

Landing on the ground, he watched as Strange flew what had to be thirty feet off the ground, bringing the horde of aliens surrounding him with him as he went. Each alien was spinning and thrashing against the invisible grip, desperately trying to escape whatever was keeping them captive. He watched on as Strange made purple streams of light emanate from the ground under each alien, streaking upwards like snakes trying to catch their prey. Moving quickly, they reached the aliens hovering helplessly above and tightened themselves around their body, instantly stopping the mad thrashing of their useless attempts to escape. With one fluent movement, Strange whipped his outstretched hands down quickly, causing the makeshift light lassos to follow his movements, slamming each alien into the ground where they vaporized on impact. The attack left the earth quaking under Tony’s feet, vibrations shooting up his legs and threatening to throw him off balance. Steadying himself, Tony began walking towards Strange as he floated to the ground, now plastered with the shadows of what used to be parts of Thanos’ army.

“Hey. You said one out of fourteen million we win, yeah?” He got right to the point. He needed to hear it from Strange in order to know what he was to do. “Tell me this is it,” he demanded.

Strange turned and looked at him in a calculated manner, his eyes swimming with the untold knowledge of the many futures he had seen. “If I tell you what happens…it won’t happen.”

This was as good as a confession for Tony, the certainty of Strange’s words sending a shiver down his spine. He knew what the endgame was and what he had to do to achieve it _._

"You better be right.” 

He knew he was right though. The look Strange was giving him was enough. It was like an unspoken understanding had passed between the two of them and the plan that had been in the back of Tony’s mind since they started their journey on the time heist, even lurking in the shadows as far back as when he’d first heard Thanos’ name at Strange’s sanctum, was beginning to set itself into place. It was now or never. 

Hesitating for a moment, he was about to set off to rejoin Peter when Clint piped up over the comms again, the tension in his voice palpable. 

“Cap! What do you want me to do with this damn thing?”

“Get those stones as far away as possible!” came his strained reply, clearly in the middle of a fight.

“No!” Smart-Hulk roared back, “We need to get ‘em back where they came from!”

Tony knew he was right, but his stomach clenched as he remembered that Thanos had destroyed their only way to do so. The time machine had most definitely been blasted to pieces along with every other part of the Avengers compound. There was no way it could’ve survived

“No way to get ‘em back, Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel,” he told them grimly, wishing that he could give them any other answer. For both their sake and his own. 

Without the time machine it didn’t seem like they had any other options than the one that would end it all. The one, he realized as he let out a long breath, that he was ready to do.

_Whatever it takes._

However, just as his mind had begun to lock his plan into place, Scott suddenly chimed in.

“Hold on! That wasn’t our only time machine!” 

Tony heard the telltale sound of La Cucaracha play in the distance. 

_The Van._

He sighed shakily, never having been so relieved to hear that ridiculous song in his life. It meant that there was still another option, another way to get out of this. Steve picked up on this too and immediately made a call out for the van lost amidst the chaos.

“Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?” he panted.

“Yes, but you’re not going to like where it’s parked,” supplied Valkyrie.

A red dot blinked to life on his helmet’s hologram map, showing the location where the car’s alarm had sounded from, and she wasn’t wrong. The sound’s signature had been dropped in the most heavily populated section of the battle, the many smaller dots created by Thanos’ army massing around the perimeter and forming a brick wall of heat. Tony didn’t need to see the van to know the poor condition it was in, especially after the raining fire Thanos had sent on his first approach. It was a true miracle that it had survived at all, let alone in a repairable capacity. They would need time to get it up and running, as well as the sheer power of strength and will to reach it. He figured that the former could be more easily dealt with, so he voiced his concern to Scott.

“Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?”

“Uh, maybe ten minutes?” came his uncertain reply.

“Get it started!” Cap said, his tone with an air of finality, “We’ll get the stones to you!” 

Relieved that the team had a halfway decent plan going, Tony was finally about to hurry back to Peter when he was engulfed by a dark shadow. Looking up to see what the source was he felt his skin crawl. It was a Chitauri Leviathan. Since Scott was on the mission to fix their only Quantum Tunnel, the beast had broken free from a giant, now unmanned portal, which he had been sending it through in a collaboration with Strange. What was even worse was that the rogue animal was currently headed towards Peter, who was going head to head with a small group of aliens where Tony had left him several yards away. 

Realizing that Peter was too focused on the fight he was currently in to notice the approaching giant, he sprang to action. Blasting himself off the ground he engaged his secondary boosters to make it to Peter before the Leviathan. He felt the jolt that was the extra booster engaging and heard the wind whistle by him as he gained even more speed, finally coming to a quick stop in front of Peter whilst simultaneously sending out blasts from his hand repulsors, sending the rest of the aliens flying. 

“Thanks Mr. Stark! Those were some mean aliens,” he panted as Tony disengaged his thrusters and landed on the ground, sounding relieved to have had some help with the final few beasts. 

They both retracted their helmets to get a better look at each other, Tony noticing the beads of sweat dripping from Peter’s brow and the way he seemed to droop at the edges. He knew the kid must be getting tired, having never fought in a battle of this extent before, but they had to keep going. If they could gain an advantage on Thanos by removing the gauntlet from the equation then maybe they’d be able to end this fight once and for all, giving everyone a much needed rest. 

Before he could tell Peter about the incoming threat however, the kid’s body suddenly tensed and he whipped around, looking to the sky. Tony could literally hear his heart skip a few beats, the steady, albeit quick rhythm he heard through his speakers stuttering slightly. Peter’s face morphed into brief panic before he hesitantly told Tony what he was seeing.

“Uh, sir? I just thought you should know that there’s a giant sky alien coming right at us, and it doesn’t look much friendlier.”

Tony was briefly confused at why the kid had suddenly sprung to life, but then gave a small chuckle as he remembered the conversation he once had with May about Peter’s powers. Well, not so much a conversation, more like an interrogation. Despite having a base-level of knowledge on the kid’s powers there were always more avenues to explore when coming up with new suit features, but when he approached May about it she hadn’t been overly eager to talk details. There was, however, one small detail he had managed to get out of her.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about your ‘Peter tingle’. That’s what I was coming here to warn you about, kid.”

Peter turned his wide eyes on Tony, and he couldn’t help but smirk. He had called it that name for the exact purpose of eliciting that response from him. A way to have a little fun before they fought the giant space whale.

Peter’s face flushed red as he responded. “It’s not- Did you get that from Aunt May?” 

“No time to talk kid, we have to kick some mean alien ass,” he replied wryly, purposefully not answering the question. He loved the kid, but it was so fun to mess with him. Peter just set his jaw in defiance at the poorly named power. 

Shifting his mindset back to the fight, he thought back to how difficult it was to take one of these down. The one he had killed thirteen years ago had basically taken down half of New York before he finally found its weakness. Knowing that they couldn’t penetrate the armour surrounding its body, Tony began to come up with a plan that would play to both of their strengths. While Peter was a pretty good fighter, his one big weakness was also one of his greatest assets: his swinging. The issue here was that there was nowhere for Peter to attach his webs and swing from, and the alien was moving at such a high velocity that there wasn’t much room to improvise and gain momentum by swinging from the armoured body alone. This all left him at a huge disadvantage for the air fight. 

Needing a new angle, he used Friday to scan the fast approaching enemy. A schema for the beast materializing in his HUD, he found that there was a large crack in the armour covering its underbelly. With this bit of information in mind, he turned towards Peter to try and make a game plan just as the Leviathan reached them. 

Before Tony could get a word in, however, Peter shot a web up towards the giant alien where it fastened itself to one of the armour plates sticking out on its side. With a yelp he was violently dragged off of the ground as the Leviathan climbed higher in the sky and was now stuck fifty feet off the ground, swinging below the beast. Knowing that the kid needed help, Tony once again launched himself off the ground in a race to get Peter.

“I’m coming kid!” he exclaimed as he got closer to where he was dangling. Reaching him quickly, and knowing he wasn’t in immediate danger, he couldn’t help but give a jab at the kid for the rookie move.

“You know, for someone so brilliant you can sure make some dumb decisions.”

“Yeah, this really wasn’t what I had in mind,” he murmured, and Tony chuckled at the embarrassment in his voice. He would’ve loved to continue poking fun at his mistake, but it was at the exact moment he’d lined up his next quip that the Leviathan decided to dip down and head back towards the ground.

Knowing that they had to find a way to bring the beast down before it crushed one of the many fighters below, Tony started to think of a way to kill it that didn’t involve flying into it and blowing it up from the inside like he had done in the original New York battle. The crack that he’d found earlier would be immensely helpful in doing just that, giving him an opening to simply stab into its flesh instead of having to break through the armour first. It was especially helpful as the beast could sense your approach and would immediately start swerving and dipping so you normally couldn't position the blade properly. Having the crack will give him one less thing to worry about. _Bypass all of that nicely, get straight to stabbing_. Tony chuckled to himself; when had he become Natasha?

With his thoughts now in order and a plan squarely in his mind, Tony turned to Peter to explain what he had come up with. 

“We need to bring this thing down before it does any real damage. I know you can’t swing up here, the alien’s soaring faster than a speeder jet, but we’re actually going to use that to our advantage.”

“But Mr. Stark that doesn’t make any sense! How does me not being able to swing help us?” he questioned, thoroughly confused as to what Tony was getting at.

Suddenly the Leviathan made a sharp turn and began soaring quickly towards a fight happening on the ground below. Looking closer, Tony’s heart dropped as he realized it was Rhodey who was currently fighting off a swarm of chitauri and alien dogs that had gathered around him. Realizing time was running out, he set his plan into action and decided to fill Peter in as he went. He flew up a bit to match his level with Peter’s and grabbed his arm that wasn’t holding onto his webbing. Before Peter could even question what he was doing, Tony cut the web attached to the leviathan and took off before circling around the back of the Leviathan, pulling Peter along with him.

“Oh my god, what’s happening?!” Peter yelled as he suddenly found himself flying through the air once again.

“Sorry Pete, we don’t have much time. What I’m going to do here is circle down and around so we’re below and behind this thing. When I get into position I’m going to fly up real quick and throw you under the belly of this thing. Once you reach it, I want you to activate instant kill mode and use your retractable legs to slice its underside as you go; There's a sizeable fracture in its armour, exposing the skin underneath where you’ll be able to easily insert the leg of your suit. That should kill it slow enough that we’ll be able to guide it away from the battlefield. Easy peasy.” 

Using Peter was the last thing he wanted to do, but he didn’t have another play. He would never let anything happen to the kid on his watch though, Peter would never be in any real danger. Circling around and angling himself so they were both looking at the underside of the beast, Tony was finally in position to execute his plan. 

“Not that I doubt you or anything sir, but I don’t know if this is going to work. What if I don’t make it? And what happens after I cut it open? Am I just-” he cut off the kid’s rambling train of thought.

“I’m going to catch you after, I promise,” he assured him. “Ready?”

“Um, sure?” 

“Lets go!”

With that, he set off towards the belly of the beast. As soon as he was fifteen feet from its body, he swung Peter up and threw him, in a carefully calculated manner, so he’d arc underneath the beast and be able to slice its body as he went. He carefully monitored the kid as he flew through the air, watching him activate instant kill mode along the way as he was supposed to. In seconds, Peter reached the soft exposed skin of the Leviathan's belly and jabbed one of his eight retractable iron spider legs into it. Easily passing through, he then used his momentum to slide down towards the tail, spilling green slime and alien guts everywhere. Tony didn't envy the people getting an unwanted shower below.

He heard Peter gag over the comms, the smell of the slime getting to him. “This is gross Mr. Stark, like, _really_ gross,” he groaned, voice ridden with disgust.

Tony winced in sympathy. He owed the kid big time after this. “I know,” he reassured, “but you’re doing a good job kid!” 

Seeing that Peter was almost at the end, Tony began making his way to where he knew he would drop so that he would be in position to catch him. As if on cue, Peter reached the tail of the beast which caused his makeshift knife to come loose as it lost the exposed surface area. Before he even really had a chance to fall, Tony swooped in and once again grabbed his arm, flying him away from the now fatally wounded giant in the sky. He was having a hard time maintaining a good grip on his arm due to the amount of slime he had acquired as he cut the alien open, so Tony had to make sure to hold on extra tight to ensure the kid didn’t slip from his grasp. Looping around once again to face the Leviathan, now slowly falling from the sky, Tony sent a giant missile towards it to not only make sure that it was dead, but to also give it an extra push so it landed on the outskirts of where everyone was fighting instead of on top of everyone. He watched as the blast went off and the alien drifted sideways until finally crashing into the dirt where it went up a cloud of dust. Satisfied that it would be giving them no more trouble, he brought himself and Peter to the ground.

Safely back on solid terrain, Tony let go of Peter’s arm and watched as the kid retracted his helmet and breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived, however, as the stench of the alien guts hit him full force, the only barrier between him and it now gone. Gagging once again, Tony knew he had to do something before things went any further and the kid found himself losing his lunch.

“Pete, put your helmet back up,” he ushered quickly so he could begin washing the residue off and not drown the kid in the process.

Looking like he was concentrating on not throwing up, his mouth drawn into a tight line, Peter did what he was told without question. As soon as his head was secured inside his helmet, Tony immediately started blasting him with water. Spraying the green slime off Peter’s body, he made sure nothing was left before giving Peter the all clear.

“Okay kid, you’re good to open up that can.” 

Retracting his helmet once more, Peter took gulping breaths of fresh air, hands on his knees, filling his body with something that didn’t smell like death.

“Thanks,” he gasped in relief before staggering a few steps away from the gooey mess and collapsing flat onto his back.

“I never want to do that again. That was so intense,” he breathed out, keeping his eyes closed the entire time. Tony couldn’t help but chuckle.

“We better hope this fight goes our way then.”

They were silent for a moment, Peter laying on the ground after his traumatic ordeal when the kid suddenly spoke, continuing to stare up at the sky.

“Hey Mr. Stark? Where did that water come from?”

Not understanding the question, Tony was about to ask for clarification when it hit him. _His suit’s water._ Normally, a suit like this wouldn’t hold water, but Tony had designed them to always have some kind of a reserve built into them in case a situation at hand warranted it. _You can never be too careful._

It was, of course, a step up from the old design he had. The filtration system in his older models, while effective, was also disgusting in his own right. 

Planning on telling Peter the truth, he was about to respond ‘from his reserve’, when he realized this was a perfect opportunity to lighten the mood.

“Oh, you know, just from my suit’s filtration system. Finest water there is really.”

Even exhausted, Peter sat up at that, a growing look of horror on his face.

“Fil-filtration system? But… what’s it filtering?”

Tony cleared his throat, pretending to avoid the question. “Right, so I should probably go scan the battlefield. See what’s going on-”

“Mr. Stark, was that _pee_ water?”

“... no.”

“Agh!” Peter held his arms out from where they were resting at his sides, staring at them intently. 

“I’m covered in _pee water._ I can’t believe it, you washed me off with _pee water._ ” Peter stared at Tony, betrayal evident in his eyes. 

While he felt bad for traumatizing the kid, the look on his face was priceless. 

_I’ll tell him the truth later._

Peter started mumbling to himself, something about buses and learning to not intervene, so Tony left him to it, deciding to scan his surroundings to see if anyone needed help instead. During his scan he found that Rhodey was fine and had managed to kill the aliens around him, now moving on to another threat. With that relief in mind, Friday picked up on another fight happening not too far from where they were on the ground. Enhancing the image so he could see what was happening better, the newly enlarged picture showed Steve going head to head with one of the fifteen foot tall aliens, the kind that looked like the ugly child of a bulldog and Godzilla. Friday’s analysis also picked up a group of the chitauri freaks they had battled in New York coming up hot behind in an attempt to ambush Steve while his focus was on their larger friend. Figuring Steve could use some help, but knowing Peter was tired, he made the decision to let the kid stay on the outskirts of the battle to rest for a minute while he went and gave Cap some help.

Looking back at Peter, he saw that he had laid back down and had his arms crossed over his chest.

“Hey Tarzan, I’m going to help old Capsicle quickly, but I want you to stay here. I’ll be right back. Keep an eye out for any trouble!”

“Can do,” he replied, betrayal and annoyance still evident in his voice. Satisfied that he’d be okay where he was for a minute though, Tony left to help the Star Spangled soldier. 

Approaching Steve quickly, he watched as Steve was knocked off balance after one of the chitauri shot a beam of light at his left leg, but instead of falling over like Tony expected, Steve caught his balance and used his momentum to spin himself around on one leg, his left leg jutting out behind him in a sort of clumsy pirouette. As he spun he threw his shield and knocked over the five approaching Chitauri soldiers like bowling pins. Returning to his normal upright position, he caught his shield as it returned to him while at the same time Tony made contact with the ground in front of him. Seeing that the giant alien was still alive and coming back to hit both Steve and now Tony, he launched a couple of his shoulder missiles where they whistled through the air before exploding all over the aliens face and multiple areas of its body, sending it, too, crashing to the ground. 

“Hey twinkle toes,” he mocked. “This isn’t part of your dance act, this is a big boy’s battle!”

“Thanks for the reminder Tony, I totally didn’t notice,” he deadpanned, but smiled nonetheless. 

Smirking himself, it was at this moment that he realized Steve didn’t have Mjolnir on him, something that actually surprised Tony as he assumed Steve wouldn’t let it go after first wielding it. It was, after all, a weapons gods themselves used and something that seemed helpful in their cause to bring Thanos down. 

“Hey, where’s your magic hammer to save the day? You know, the one you almost took my head off with? Maybe it could have stopped me from having to rescue that perfectly toned ass.”

Steve just rolled his eyes, exasperation coating his features at Tony’s inability to keep his comments to himself.

“You’re just jealous that you can’t lift it,” he countered, not playing into Tony’s games.

Tony gasped in fake betrayal, dramatically raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I may be many things, Captain, but jealous is not one of them.”

Steve shook his head and laughed, amused by Tony’s antics. Chuckling himself, they both enjoyed a brief moment of reprieve from battle. His laughter dying down, he glanced around and sobered as he took in the hellscape surrounding them. Seeing Steve’s chuckling fade away as well, a mournful look overtaking the split second of happiness, he decided to properly check in, make sure Steve was doing okay before he left to rejoin Peter. 

“Seriously though, you good?” 

Looking closer now he could see that Steve looked as tired as he felt himself. He was caked in blood, both his own and from the aliens, and covered head to toe in so much dirt and gunk that he was looking more like the ghoul from Swamp Thing than a decorated soldier. This battle against Thanos really was taking everything they had and it didn’t look like it was ending anytime soon. The aliens seemed to be in never ending supply and it was clearly taking a toll on everyone. Even Tony’s energy was slowly depleting as he seemed to kill three aliens just for six more to appear behind him. He knew that they had to do something, and quick, because at this rate they would never beat Thanos. 

As tired as he was, though, Tony knew he couldn’t stop fighting. He had to see the fight through until every last alien was dead. He had too much on the line that he needed to protect. Whenever he saw Peter fighting it brought him back to that moment where he had suddenly appeared. For five years Tony had thought that he would never see the kid again; That he was the reason he was gone and that he’d failed to protect him. Having him back and in front of him again was what was fuelling his fight. He knew he couldn’t stop because he had to protect Peter, his son, and nothing was going to get in the way of that again. He also had his family that he gained in those five years on his mind too. He needed to make sure that there was a world for Pepper and of course the beautiful gift that was his daughter Morgan to live and thrive in. The sheer fact that Pepper was here fighting alongside him was the cherry on top as to why he would never give up. He would do the ultimate to win. 

He was broken out of the train of thought he had gotten lost in by Steve’s reply.

“I’m good Tony, don’t worry about me,” he responded looking weary, but confident, his words echoing those of Bruce earlier. Seeing that Steve could manage his side of the fight, and knowing that he had to get back to Peter, Tony figured it would be safe to leave the Captain on his own again.

“Right, I forgot you’re Mr. ‘I can do this all day,’” he jabbed, a good natured smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Steve chuckled again, but this time it came out as more of a scoff. “Yeah, something like that.” Then he turned to rejoin battle once again, leaving Tony standing alone. 

Making his way back towards Peter, he found him exactly where he had left him, the only change being that the kid was now standing, seemingly forgiving Tony for the pee water, looking more ready for battle. 

“I’m ready to fight again, sir. A-and I don’t even know why you thought I needed a break, cause I was ready before! I can totally keep up with this space alien battle stuff,” he said as soon as Tony landed next to him. Tony smiled, he knew that the kid was trying to put on a brave face, but could tell deep down that Peter was grateful for the small rest he had given him. 

“Yeah, sure kid. Now, since you’re clearly more than ready to fight alien space battles let’s-” his response to Peter was cut off by an earth shattering thud that caused them both to stumble. 

Whipping around and quickly hovering in the air to see what had happened, Tony saw a huge commotion in the centre of all the action. In the midst of the battlefield, surrounded by different smaller fights happening, was a huge cloud of dust that was being illuminated by red flashes from within. Looking closer, he saw the undistinguishable silhouette of Thanos appearing through the dust, backlit by the constant flashes of scarlet. It was this that made his mind click as to what was happening. _Wanda was going head to head with Thanos._ He was immediately concerned for her because he knew the length that she would go to destroy Thanos, even if it meant destroying herself in the process. With all she had lost in her life, her parents to the Sokovian bombing, her brother to Ultron, and most recently the love of her life, Vision, to Thanos himself, Tony knew from personal experience that she would go as far as overextending the limit of her powers to take him down. Landing on the ground next to Peter again he quickly changed his plan.

“New plan, we’re going to head over to where Wanda’s facing off against Thanos. She’ll need back up if anything goes south.” 

Peter nodded firmly. “Got it, Mr. Stark.”

Together they both advanced towards the fight, Tony blasting any aliens he passed in the sky or that came close to Peter on the ground along the way. As much as he wanted to jump into the mix, he used his better judgement and decided that they should stay back, keep the advancing aliens from influencing Wanda’s already stilted fight. Finally coming close enough to see what was happening, Tony witnessed, to his amazement, that Wanda was actually doing an impressive job at keeping Thanos at bay. Confirming that Peter was still with him, Tony continued to blast a perimeter around the battle as he snuck glances at her progress from his vantage point in the sky while the kid surveyed it from the ground. 

Using her powerful abilities to her advantage, Tony could see that Thanos had wildly underestimated Wanda’s strength as well. He moved to come at her with his treasured double-edged blade, but when he swung, instead of his blade meeting its mark, it instead froze in place as Wanda focused all her energy on stopping the powerful swing. Tony could see the doubt beginning to line Thanos’ features as the red glow of her power surrounded the sword. The mad tyrant hadn’t expected her to so easily beset him. Struggling to release the blade from her hold, Thanos decided to push down on it with everything he had in an attempt to break the glowing barrier. This ultimately backfired as Wanda took advantage of this and easily sent the blade flying out of his hands and Thanos stumbling backwards with a powerful wave of her arm. He was now defenseless as his sword lay ten feet behind him, out of reach and with one side broken from the force of her blast. 

_Thatta girl!_ he thought proudly. Wanda was currently kicking Thanos’ ass. _All powerful Titan, ha! Even Barney could fight better than Thanos right now!_

Faltering slightly, he took in the meaning of what he had just said. _Man, I really need to stop watching TV with Morgan in the mornings._

The surprise on Thanos’ face was laced with a hint of fear, as Wanda wasted no time in encompassing his body in a cocoon of red energy. Using the powerful force at her hands, she began squeezing Thanos and raising him up so that his arms were tightly fastened to his sides. The Titan began struggling madly in her grip, straining hard against the invisible force to try and break free, but he didn’t have any stones and was no match for her. As she continued to raise him off the ground, she began ripping his armour off piece by piece, slowly destroying all of the defence he had.

 _Come on, keep going!_ He silently urged. _You’re almost there, you’ve got this!_

She probably would have destroyed Thanos right there and then, if Squidward hadn’t seen what was happening and jumped to his master’s defence. 

In the corner of his eye he could see Thanos’ goon steadily approaching to help his master from where he was stuck in Wanda’s death grip. Knowing he had to do something so he wouldn’t interfere, Tony quickly abandoned his alien dog massacre and launched himself at the ugly creature, when he was suddenly stopped in mid-air. Going from full speed to being frozen in place caused his stomach to lurch, threatening to rebel at any moment. He had to force himself to take a few deep breaths to calm it down, not wanting to make a mess in his helmet… again. He had done it once before, that particular instance taking place after a long night out, and it wasn’t something he wanted a repeat performance of. Shuddering as he thought back to the unsavoury smell, he drove those thoughts from his mind and continued to breathe until his stomach finally began to settle. 

As he recovered, he realized that Squidward had seen his approach and had stopped him with a lazy flick of his wrist. Coming closer to Tony with his hand still raised, Tony got an eyeful of yellow teeth as he drew his lips up in a sneer.

“It’ll take a lot more than that to stop me, you pathetic rust bucket,” he scoffed and waved his hand again, a movement that caused Tony to go hurtling back towards the ground. 

Spinning wildly, Friday managed to recalibrate his suit and launch him back upright, his back just grazing the rubble below. Looking over to Squidward as he stopped next to Thanos and Wanda, he was able to hear him ask, with an unusual amount of panic for someone so sure of himself, 

“Sire, shall we commence phase two?”

Tony didn’t know what ‘Phase two’ meant but based on the destruction already happening around them, he figured it couldn’t mean anything good.

“No!” Thanos roared, the strain in his voice obvious from battling against Wanda’s attack. “It’s too much of a risk! Send the rest of our troops! Leave no one behind!”

Well, he knew what _that_ meant, but really wished he didn't.

Squidward hesitated at first, but then nodded and lifted a hand toward the giant ship looming above. 

Having made his way back down to the ground next to Peter, Tony could feel the earth shaking beneath his feet. Looking up he saw why; Thanos’ battle station, which he now knew was called the Sanctuary II thanks to his time trapped in space with Nebula, had suddenly come alive. The shaking was being caused by two massive Q ships, alike to the one he, Peter, and Strange had crashed onto Titan five years ago, being deployed from the circular docking bays on the underside of either wing on the ship. About a dozen more drop ships, the jagged triangular ships that carried Thanos’ alien dog army, shot forth from several other ports and were now hurtling towards the ground as well. As if that wasn’t enough, the giant door beneath the Sanctuary II had opened, Tony grinding his teeth at the deafening screech of metal on metal, and more Necrocrafts and Leviathans emerged, coating the sky like a swarm of killer bees. 

Like a dam bursting, Thanos had just released the full extent of his army.

Blood pressure steadily rising from the amount of aliens joining the battle, Tony turned away to make a game plan with Peter, Wanda and Thanos momentarily forgotten, when he noticed the kid was no longer standing next to him, but rather looking at something over to the right. About to ask what he was staring at, he watched in horror as Peter catapulted himself over to the spot and flung his web to retrieve what Tony now understood was the gauntlet from T’Challa’s vibranium claws. 

_Oh god._

“PETER!” 

  
  
  
  



	10. When the Levee Breaks

As soon as Peter had the gauntlet secured under his left arm, he immediately made his way through the chaotic mess that was the battlefield. Tony’s blood ran cold as he watched every alien in a nearby radius suddenly raise their ugly head to observe this change of events, a hellish shriek tearing from their lungs as they forgot their current fight and made chase to the gem-encrusted glove. Activating his thrusters, Tony shot off the ground and raced to catch up to Peter before the aliens did, but there was too much ground action going on to even have a shot at getting close to him. He could only watch as Peter ducked and weaved his way through the many small swarms of aliens. Flying over it all, he had to watch as Peter almost got speared from behind by one of Thanos’ children, but was spared when Wong appeared and sent the attacker through a portal before they could reach him. It was a lucky thing that there were others who could help look after the kid for once, and that the huge mass Thanos had just released was still making its way to where everyone was fighting. Peter didn’t have to fight his way through all of that on top of this, and didn’t have to face it all alone, something Tony was grateful for. 

His relief didn’t last long however as he could hardly believe his eyes when Peter activated instant kill mode to get through a particularly thick swarm of first-wave aliens that he had suddenly come across, his spider legs going in all directions stabbing the aliens through numerous parts of their bodies. Tony could barely see the kid through all the blood and guts being thrown through the air. 

As the freaks pressed in on him despite his best effort to fight his way through, Tony could hear his heartbeat picking up tempo as his movements became more frantic. He needed to get out of there, and quickly. 

Pausing his mass destruction of the aliens, Peter suddenly looked up and shot a web at something flying through the air, which then sent him flying along with it. It took Tony a moment to realize that the kid had just caught a ride with Mjolnir as it flew over him.

Knowing that Peter was definitely in over his head, and that no one else was going to pay enough attention to realize that fact, he made the executive decision to catch up with him and take the gauntlet himself. He’d rather take the brunt of the aliens’ attention than give them a bigger reason to target the kid. The last thing Tony wanted was for this to be the reason he di- no, he wasn’t going to finish that thought. Peter was going to be okay, he had to be. 

Racing to cut off the Asgardian Hammer and taking out as many aliens as he could on the way, Tony was making good progress until he saw something that made his heart sink and then sigh in relief all in a matter of seconds. As Peter sailed through the air behind Mjolnir, his web had gotten shot by a stray laser from a nearby alien and he had begun plummeting to the ground, only to be caught by none other than Pepper herself. 

“Oh, thank god,” he sighed to himself in relief. Peter would be safe now. Surely Pepper would take him to the ground where Tony could scold him then hug him and then scold him some more for giving him a heart attack and taking on the gauntlet alone. 

_That kid and acting before thinking! His impulsiveness will be the death of us both!_

Once again, however, he was thoroughly disappointed as she instead flung him up to catch a ride with Valkyrie on a _flying horse._

“Pepper! What the hell do you think you’re doing!” he screamed through the comms, definitely a lot harsher than he had intended, but his son was now flying through the air on a winged horse with the one item Thanos wanted more than anything. 

“He’s just a kid!” he continued hotly, “He shouldn’t be taking on the gauntlet by himself, he’ll get himself killed out there!”

“Calm down, Tony!” she yelled back with the slightest bit of amusement, sending Tony’s blood pressure impossibly higher. “He needs to get the gauntlet to Scott! Besides, he’s riding with an Asgardian warrior!”

“Exactly!” he cried, probably a bit more hysterical than he meant. If anything that made him worry more. 

He knew all about Valkyrie and her kind from the preliminary research he had done with JARVIS after his first encounter with Thor. He always liked knowing everything about who he was dealing with, so he had read up on whatever information there was on Thor and all the lore that came with him. From this research he knew that she knew what battle was like and in any battle you had to bring the bad guy down by whatever means necessary, no matter the consequences. 

One thing that did surprise him though was that Valkyrie was currently wielding Stormbreaker, Thor’s beloved weapon. It made him worry for the fate of his friend. Surely he hadn’t given it up?

Refocusing his mind to the task at hand, he shot off once again trying to catch up to Peter’s increasingly small form. He definitely wasn’t going to get any closer if he continued this way, and he didn’t know how much sanity he had left to spend in his fight to reach the kid. 

It was this thought, however, that finally made logic catch up to his anxiety-addled brain as he remembered that he could close the distance through his comms. Calling on Friday to open up a private line, he began to desperately try and get his attention. 

“Peter! If you don’t answer my call right now I swear you’re not going to live it down for the rest of your-”

“Oh hey Mr. Stark!” he greeted easily, like he had met up with him in a grocery store aisle instead of riding on a _flying horse_ in the middle of a giant alien battle. 

“Oh hey there Peter,” he began in the same tone, faking a calm demeanour, “I was just checking in to tell you to GET YOUR ASS OFF OF THAT HORSE.”

“Woah, calm down sir, it’s okay! Ms. Warrior lady is very in control of the situation.”

_I’m going to kill him._

“Ok kid, I’m going to ask you one more time. Give me the gauntlet and get off-” he was cut off again, this time by Valkyrie’s voice, yelling over the wind. 

“What’s going on back there kid? Are you ready to hand the gauntlet off or what?” 

Tony heard Peter say he was ready before the kid directed his attention back to him. “Listen Mr. Stark, I’ve got this. I’m going to get the-”

He never got to finish his sentence. Distracted by Peter, Valkyrie hadn’t seen the necrocraft until it was too late. 

Tony had to watch, as if in slow motion, as the stray ship began firing at them, causing the nearby hillside to explode and launch dirt and debris into their path. With no chance to pull up, the resulting blast sent Peter, Valkyrie and the flying horse in all different directions. Suddenly, the comm line went dead, and Tony’s heart fell. 

He knew he couldn’t make it to him in time, not even with the advanced boosters in his suit, so he could only look on as the kid went flying to the ground. Sudden flashbacks to when he had to watch Rhodey fall helplessly to the ground, in this very manner, filled his vision and he felt sick. Seconds later, but what felt like minutes to him, he was finally able to breathe again as the suit’s retractable spider legs shot out and took the brunt of the fall, leaving Peter basically no worse for wear on the ground. He wasn’t sure where Valkyrie and the horse had landed, but he was just thankful that Peter was okay. 

That relief, much like all the other breaks he’d been able to catch throughout the battle, was short lived, as the ship that had caused the explosion came back around and began firing its lasers for round two. Seeing red, Tony sized up the ship and charged toward it right as it lined up its next shot. 

Reaching it just in time, Tony rammed his left shoulder into the side of the ship, causing it to spin off course and its laser bolts to hit dirt. 

He slammed into it again.

And _again_.

And once more, this time slamming into it feet first, sending it spinning wildly where it crashed into the ground and exploded. 

His rage-filled vision starting to clear, he froze as he suddenly noticed something that had gone over his head before. There was a pounding in his ears that did not belong to him, a beat that was thudding at a breakneck pace, and it turned his veins cold as ice. Whipping around, he gasped as he took in a massive hoard of aliens, piled higher than most office buildings. They were snapping and snarling, all pushing in towards one particular spot. 

The same spot that Peter had been just moments ago.

He couldn’t see him anymore. 

“NO!” 

Tony began madly shooting round after round of repulsor blasts, taking down as many aliens as he could to try and reach Peter, but there were too many. It was like bailing water from a running stream: the ones he removed were just replaced a moment later by three more that rushed in. Tony tried to listen for his heartbeat, to grab onto any chance that he was still down there, but he couldn’t hear anything over the blood pounding behind his own ears. He could barely think straight, panic attacking his senses and sending his mind into a dizzying spiral.

_Nonono, he’s got to be in there, he’s got to be._

Desperately trying to locate him with his scanners underneath the alien bodies, he suddenly froze as a bright light started emanating from above. It was dim at first, but Tony could see it grow brighter as it reflected off of the slime ridden bodies of the aliens below. Looking around, he noticed everyone on the battlefield seeming to freeze as well, all curious as to what was forming in the sky above them. Even Thanos and Wanda had both frozen mid fight to see what was going on. Momentarily forgetting Peter in the wake of another looming threat, he glanced around and noticed that all of Thanos’ goons were firing at the bright light that was slowly getting closer to them.

“Friday, what are they firing at?” he asked in disbelief. He didn’t even know what it could possibly be. The only person that normally made a sky appearance was Thor and he was already battling on the ground below.

“Something just entered the upper atmosphere” she readily replied.

_Something just entered the atmosphere? What the hell was going on?_

Abandoning his rescue mission, he flew up towards the new threat in the sky to head it off before it could cause even more destruction below, figuring that it wouldn’t do Peter any good if they were taken out by whatever was approaching. It finally came close enough to them that he could see what, or rather, _who_ it was. 

_Carol Danvers._

The other wonder from space. She was moving so fast that she was only a blur of light, but she seemed to be moving with purpose.

He followed her as she streaked through the sky and a haunting thought suddenly dawned on him. _She's heading straight for Peter and the swarm of monsters that I just abandoned!_

Tony frantically put all the thrust power he could into reaching the kid, but it was too late. He had once again failed to reach him in time, just as he had failed Rhodey, and now he too was going to pay the price. In an instant, Carol reached the ground and sent a shockwave of energy cascading across the battlefield that made the whole ground shake. Tony instinctually put his arm up to cover his face from the debris flying through the air, even though his helmet would’ve done a fine job on its own. All he could see was dust and his ears were filled with the distant roars of the beasts that had been hit by the blast. Almost as fast as it had come, it disappeared and the dust began to settle. Tony couldn’t help but notice Wanda and Thanos first, as they stood out amongst the rest, and saw that as a result of the massive shockwave, Wanda had taken her focus away from Thanos and began saving herself from flying rocks and monster parts. Using this to his advantage, Tony watched as Thanos punched as hard as he could and sent her flying into a large piece of concrete several feet back where she lay, dazed and unmoving. Afraid of what else he might see, or rather who, Tony stayed hovering several feet above the ground with his eyes shut tight. He was hovering on a panic attack, he could feel himself start to breathe heavily and his heart was hammering in his chest. He had just cost Peter his life. He was once again responsible for the kid’s death and this time it was permanent.

“No no no no, Peter. Oh my god, Peter,” he mumbled incoherently, his heart sinking as many scenarios filled his mind with no happy ending. Surely he couldn’t have survived that blast. 

“Boss. Boss!” came a sharp voice in his ear.

“What Friday?” he asked meekly. Whatever it was she had to say, whatever new threat was coming to wipe him out, he didn’t care anymore.

“Tony. Before you start imagining the worst case scenario, listen to me,” came the annoyed reply, but there was a hint of gentleness in her robotic voice. “Peter is alive. You had me tracking his vitals through Karen, remember? He’s perfectly fine, not a scratch on him.” 

_… what?_

Cracking an eye open, Tony peered at the health bars he now remembered were projecting in his HUD. He almost started crying. There they were, blood pressure, oxygen level and body temperature, all blinking back at him and vibrant with life.

The kid was _alive_! 

Tony’s eyes rolled back in his head, finally letting himself breathe after being taken on that rollercoaster of emotion. Once again Peter had been saved from certain death, somehow squeaking through with all the odds against him. If he hadn’t been panicking so much he could have looked and seen that himself or even simply slowed down enough to connect with him through the comms, like he'd done not that long ago. He probably should feel embarrassed for not thinking of that earlier, but that didn't matter right now. Right now all he could feel was sheer relief.

Gratitude for this outcome as well as Friday’s reassurance loosened the tension that he had not known was gripping his shoulders and he hummed contentedly. 

“Oh thank God for you. You’re the best, Fri.” 

“Thank you for noticing, sir.”

He took a few more deep breaths to slow his heart and compose himself enough to look down. Sure enough Carol had somehow known to touch down at the farthest end of the hoard and sent a shockwave down through the rest of the swarm. Peter was laying at the other end, clutching the gauntlet, perfectly unharmed as the blast of energy had passed right over him and instead carried the aliens on top of him away.

He cut the power to his thrusters and felt his feet touch down on the ground, about to make his way over and get started on the kid for giving him so many heart attacks in a span of ten minutes but also hug the shit out of him for still being in one piece, when Carol approached Peter first. He stayed back and watched the scene in front of him unfold, interested in what she had to say to him. 

“Hi, I’m Peter Parker,” came the quiet introduction, the kid looking starstruck by the powerful woman.

“Hey, Peter Parker,” came the cool reply. “You got something for me?”

“Oh ya... anything for you,” the kid responded, face lighting up with excitement as he got up from where he was laying on the ground, practically shoving the gauntlet into Carol’s arms. 

“Wow, what you did was _awesome!_ How’d you do that? You were glowing and fast and you sent out that big shockwave that got rid of all the aliens, thanks for that by the way, and you don’t even seem tired! Is it like space powers? Does it work in an endoergic sense?” He talked faster as he went so that the last questions all came out in a rush.

Carol smirked at Peter’s rambling; Everyone instantly fell in love with him, it was just something about his personality that everyone instantly warmed up to. 

“I’ll show you later, kid” she chuckled. 

If Peter replied, it was cut off by the blood that began rushing through his ears at those words. That was absolutely not going to happen! Not on his watch! The kid was a magnet for trouble and there was no way in hell he was letting him get anywhere near that blast or anything like that ever again.

He started making his way over to where the two were standing to say exactly this, when his comm crackled to life in his ear and Steve’s voice filtered in, tired but strong.

“Hey Danvers, nice of you to finally show up. You got back up coming your way, now get that gauntlet to Scott!”

“Scott?”

“Hideous brown van, can’t miss it,” Tony chimed in, finally deciding that he should intervene before Carol offered to fly Peter around the battlefield.

“And yeah, it's about damn time you showed up. What took you so long?”

“There’s a lot more going on in space than you’d think,” she replied derisively. “Besides, what happened to putting on the suit and hiding?” she added, a mocking yet impressed look on her face.

“Well, lady, you go invent time travel and it tends to draw a crowd.” 

Peter, who was still admiring Carol, turned his head to look at Tony, his face scrunched in confusion about the statement Tony had just made. He looked like he was about to question him when Tony cut in, 

“No big deal, now go do what Capsicle said and get that gauntlet to Scott!”. She just rolled her eyes and flew away, clearly not fazed by him like Peter was.

Suddenly, he remembered why he was angry.

“And you!” he started on Peter hotly, “What the HELL did you think you were doing? Going off like that, flying through the sky, riding on _intergalactic_ **_winged_** horses! You could have been killed!” His voice got higher and higher as he continued. “I thought I told you not to play hero! I just got you back and I will NOT lose you again, you hear me?”

The confusion and questioning look on Peter’s face quickly vanished and morphed into surprise as he saw how angry Tony was. His giddy excitement from earlier was replaced with panic as the weight of what he had just done seemed to finally sink in.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Stark! I just saw that the Cat-Man from Germany was in trouble and was trying to pass off the gauntlet. No one was around, so I just did what anyone else would have done and grabbed it.”

“Well you’re not just anyone else! You’re f-” 

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the look on Peter’s face. The kid just looked so damn hurt. Realizing that he was being unfair, he paused to really get a read on Peter’s face and could see the sincerity in Peter’s eyes. The kid looked truly upset that he had caused Tony the grief that he did. His only thought at the moment had been to help out another hero in need, no matter the risk. Tony’s hard expression softened. He just couldn’t withstand the wounded puppy look the kid was giving him. The kid was only trying to do what anyone else here would have done, but Peter wasn’t just anyone else to him; he was _family_ , so he had lashed out more than he intended to. 

He figured that he should just let it go and start over, the stress that he had caused Tony be damned, because Peter didn’t deserve to be reprimanded for just trying to help out. He walked over and gave in to the impulse he had fended off earlier, reaching a shaky hand up to tousle the kid’s hair. Much like a father would when he was proud of his son, which was true to this moment. Tony was extremely proud of the kid’s bravery and willingness to do what was right no matter the consequences, even if it scared the crap out of him. He saw Peter sigh in relief and lean into his touch. He took a step back, keeping his hand on Peter’s shoulder, and continued the conversation in a much calmer manner. 

“Listen, I’m sorry for yelling, but you had me worried! I thought you were dead when those aliens trampled you and then Danvers dive bombed the pile and... I was worried I would have to lose you again, kid.” It was the truth, he really cared for the kid and was terrified that he had lost him, for good this time.

Peter gave him a small smile. “I’m okay, Mr. Stark, really.”

Giving the kid a quick squeeze on his shoulder he released his grip and ran his hands over his own face. He took a deep breath and reoriented himself for the fight that was about to come.

“There’s still a lot for us to do in order to beat Thanos. I want you to stay back, I’m going to-” he was cut off by Peter’s protests.

“But Mr. Stark, I can help! I promise I won’t go rogue this time,” he pleaded.

Tony admired his ambition, and for once he felt like his plan would be putting that trait to good use.

“Well, actually, I might just have something up my sleeve for you, so long as you promise to never pull a stunt like that one again. Remember team Titan? Our first rodeo with Thanos? Well _he_ doesn't, so I say it's time that we settle the score. I want you to round up everyone and meet me over by the quantum tunnel. Hopefully by that point we’ll have Thanos under control and we can finish him off the way we planned the first time.”

Peter’s eyes were initially narrowed in confusion, unable to understand what Tony meant about Thanos not remembering their epic fight, but must have forgotten about the puzzling statement at the mention of his involvement because his eyes widened and were practically shining with excitement. The fact that he was being given a special mission by Tony himself was something Tony knew he had always dreamed of, and he figured that telling the kid about Thanos’ 2014 time stamp would no longer be necessary.

“Thank you sir! I won’t let you down, I promise!” he exclaimed, and with that he scurried off to begin collecting the people he needed. 

Tony chuckled at how much energy Peter always had. He couldn’t fault the kid for lack of enthusiasm.

Despite his initial plans to stake out beside the tunnel and await Peter’s return, a glimpse of a blonde pixie cut blazing towards that same location had Tony slightly altering his goal. After all, the kid wouldn’t be needing him there right away, so he might as well help Carol in the event that Thanos appeared and still arrive on time to enact their plan. Getting closer to where she was fighting her way through the fresh wave of Thanos’ goons, he realized that she wasn’t alone. The backup Steve had requested for Carol earlier had arrived and there, fighting diligently by her side, was Okoye, Valkyrie, Wanda, Mantis, Shuri, Gamora, and to Tony’s delight Pepper who was currently taking up the lead.

 _That’s my girl,_ he thought proudly. 

Each female warrior was tackling a different threat in turn, clearing a path for Carol to make her way through. Pepper, who was further up than the rest, was shooting a makeshift path through a group of twenty Chitauri and their alien dog friends. All he could see were her repulsor blasts from her hands as she spun around and shot the aliens directly in the face, but also the missiles she sent simultaneously from her shoulder arsenal to deal with the aliens out of her reach. Above her was Valkyrie, who was back on her horse to Tony’s relief, using Stormbreaker to take out all the Chitauri speedsters and Necrocrafts trying to use their sky advantage against the people fighting below. He was confused, however, when she suddenly stood on top of her horse, raising Stormbreaker above her head as she stood; She stood frozen in place, the mighty axe tightly clutched in her hands. Tony was about to check if she was alright, when she abruptly swung Stormbreaker down in one smooth motion and with it, brought a sudden cylinder of light that lit up the battlefield in an explosion of colour. The fast moving light waves encompassed an approaching Leviathan that even Tony hadn’t seen, causing it to disappear, along with the light, as fast as it had come. The only known trace of anything having been there was a familiar circle burned into the earth below. _Holy shit, she just summoned the Bifrost!_ he thought in amazement, not realizing Thor wasn’t the only one able to do so. He looked on in astonishment as she lazily sat back on her horse and continued to tackle the rest of the swarm, like nothing had happened at all.

Tony’s brain was still trying to process what he had just witnessed when his attention was caught by Wanda who wasn’t far behind her. A bit further from the other female fighters, she was battling another Leviathan soaring overhead. Tony saw the beast heading towards Valkyrie whose focus was entirely on the speedsters circling above her, and thought that she was going to be taken out, but at the last moment Wanda used all of her power to get the beast to freeze. With it now frozen, Wanda concentrated on ripping off its armour, in the same manner as she had done to Thanos earlier, revealing its soft grey skin beneath, now able to be easily penetrated. Valkyrie, having sliced through the nearby speedsters, circled back to where Wanda was battling the Leviathan and threw Stormbreaker like a boomerang, causing the giant axe to slice the now exposed skin as it passed by. 

As she retrieved the axe as it looped around and flew back to her outstretched hand, Wanda sent a giant blast at the incapacitated alien causing it to go crashing into the ground just off to their left where it lay unmoving. Impressed by the easy takedown, Tony watched on as the group of female warriors suddenly banded together, their individual threats taken care of, to back Carol as she charged towards Scott and Hope in the quantum tunnel van. Just as she was about to reach it though, she was headed off by Thanos, who suddenly appeared in front of the van and began charging straight for her. Reacting quickly, Tony stopped to charge a bunch of missiles he still had left in his arsenal, when each member of the female team acted at once. All six women, seeming to move in sequence, squared up; Pepper, Gamora, Mantis, Okoye and Shuri standing tall on the ground, while Valkyrie and Wanda took their positions above them in the sky. As if on cue, each of them unleashed a powerful attack to try and slow the Titan enough to allow Carol to get by. A powerful combination of repulsor beams, axes, red blasts, gun fire and spears assaulted Thanos causing him to go flying backwards, slamming harshly into the ground. Easily speeding past the downed form of Thanos, Carol continued to make her way to deliver the gauntlet. 

She was almost to the van when Thanos suddenly sprang up and spun around, faster than anyone had imagined he was capable of, throwing what remained of his double sided sword in one fluid motion. Tony’s immediate thought was that he was aiming for Carol, but the sword passed her by easily. Confused as to how someone like Thanos could miss, he looked farther down and his heart sunk. 

Thanos’ target was clear: He was aiming for the Quantum Tunnel. 


	11. Undying Fidelity

Tony didn’t even have time to blink before they were thrown back by the huge explosion that was the sword collapsing the activated tunnel. They all went flying in different directions as the blast hit and Tony winced as he made harsh contact with the ground, lying there stunned for a moment. He coughed as his lungs desperately tried to pull air back into them.

Finally getting control of his breathing, although with still ringing ears from how close he had been to the blast, Tony slowly got up and painstakingly threw an alien off of where it had fallen on top of him. Every single muscle in his body was stiff, seemingly not wanting to work after all the hits it had taken in the last few hours alone.

Staggering slightly, Tony squinted through the dust milling about the air. The only person he could see was the one who was right next to the tunnel at the time of the explosion, who had crashed into a huge chunk of debris and now lay motionless with dust sprinkled through her short blonde hair. Carol. 

Smacking his head gently with his palm, he tried to get the ringing in his ears to stop, but paused with his hand halfway to his head as his vision focused on something in front of him. The gauntlet was laying five feet in front of Tony, perfectly intact. Lunging to grab it despite the pain of his body, Tony realized Thanos had appeared out of nowhere and was doing the same. Knowing Thanos would get there first, he diverted his attack and instead went charging right into the giant. He slammed into Thanos and swore his bones rattled from how solid the Titan was. Easily overpowering him, Thanos spun around and sent Tony slamming into the ground where he lay dazed once again. 

Woozy from the many blows he had taken in such a short amount of time, he blinked black spots out of his eyes. As they faded, he managed to make out a hazy rendering of Thor, the god taking on Thanos alone. He must have passed Valkyrie on his way as he now had Stormbreaker in his hands once again. Somehow the god managed to get him in a sort of arm lock, pinning Thanos’ arms together with the help of Stormbreaker and Mjolnir as it flew in to join the battle. Knowing that he couldn’t hold him like that forever, Tony was relieved when Steve appeared from behind and jumped on Thanos’ back, wrapping his arms around the giant’s thick neck. Even the power of a super soldier and a god couldn’t withhold Thanos’ raw strength alone, however, and the Titan easily disabled Thor with a simple headbutt before turning around to fling Steve to the ground. There, he got on top of Steve and gave him one swift but powerful punch to the head, leaving him unconscious. 

Tony knew at that moment that they weren’t going to win if they continued on this path. No one could overthrow Thanos without the stones. At this rate they would never defeat him. With a heavy heart, he made the decision that if things seemed to not be going their way, he would have no choice but to use the gauntlet himself. He knew the risks that came along with that plan, what the snap had done to Bruce, but it was their only other option. Someone needed to wield the gauntlet and Tony knew it had to be him. He was ready to put his life on the line to save his friends and his family. Every single person in this battle was fighting to survive and they all deserved to come out alive. If he could sacrifice only his life to make that happen, he was going to do it. 

With his plan confirmed in his mind, he tried to get up from where he was still laying on the ground, his body not wanting to cooperate, when Thanos went to grab the now unguarded gauntlet. Before he could do anything with it, Carol came flying in out of nowhere and began battling Thanos. She wouldn’t be able to hold him over forever though, so Tony willed his body up, dragging himself back to his feet with his sights set on helping her. 

Looking around to survey his surroundings, he was momentarily distracted by Doctor Strange who was crouched behind a jagged piece of scaffolding. A wordless message went between them as Strange mysteriously held up one finger which reaffirmed Tony as to what he had to do now. One in fourteen million they’d win and Tony was going to make sure that it happened. He was ready. Spotting Peter and the rest of the Titan crew assemble behind Strange, he was confident that this time they would do it right.

Thanos finally overpowered Carol and sent her flying, placing the gauntlet on his hand as soon as it was free from her grasp. Thinking that he had finally won, he stood tall above all of them and prepared to snap. What he didn’t know was that Tony had just sent out a piece of tech that he had upgraded since their first fight with Thanos. It was no bigger than a golf ball and moved so silently and swiftly that anyone not paying attention wouldn’t see it. It crawled, spider-like, across the ground and up Thanos’ leg where it came to rest on the gauntlet, expanding to its full size, all without Thanos realizing as he was too focused on giving his final speech.

“You all knew this day was coming. I conquered you once and I’ll continue to do it until you bow down and accept your fate. I am... inevitable.” 

With that, he snapped his fingers, or tried to at least, as in reality nothing happened. Tony’s tech had done its job in preventing Thanos from being able to move his hand. Before Thanos could even understand what had gone wrong, Tony intervened.

“And I. Don't. Care.” he said pointedly as he moved into position. “Kid, now!” 

In a flurry of motion, Quill, Strange, Peter, Mantis, Drax, and to Tony’s surprise Nebula, all got to work on version two of their original plan to get the gauntlet away from Thanos. He was surprised that Nebula had volunteered to help, but also touched that he seemed to have made a good impression on her during their time stuck in space. He could see the surprised looks on the Guardian’s faces as well, most especially Quill, who seemed confused as to why Nebula had actually volunteered to help them out in any way.

Turning away from their battle with Thanos, Tony hurriedly made his way over to where Steve was still laying on the ground. As he approached, he could see that Steve was now awake and struggling to get up.

“Hey, here let me help,” he urged as he extended his hand and helped pull Steve to his feet.

“Thanks,” came the weary reply. He could tell that Thanos’ punch had really done a number on him, but Tony knew he had to get Steve on board with his plan, he needed him and Thor in order to execute his ultimate move against Thanos.

“Listen, I need you and Thor to cover Team Titan here for me in case something starts to go south, it’s really important. It won’t be long now.” He spoke with certitude, he needed to know that Steve understood.

Steve gave him a hard look in return. “What are you talking about Tony? What are you going to do?” The concern was palpable in his tone. He clearly knew that Tony was up to something.

“It doesn’t matter.”

His response didn’t seem to ease Steve in the slightest, who was now looking thoroughly concerned.

“The hell it does! Tony- there’s got to be another way.”

“Steve, please, trust me on this one. There is no other way.” Tony knew it had to be done and he wasn’t turning back now. Seeing Peter fighting so hard to win, along with the other Avengers, was proof enough to why he had to do this. He couldn’t let them down again. 

Steve still seemed concerned with the finality in Tony’s words, but all he said was, “Okay. I trust you.” 

He had no doubt in his mind that Steve would keep his word, so he set off back to where Peter and the others were still fighting Thanos vigilantly. They almost had him locked in the same position as five years earlier and he knew his moment was coming. He was about to make the final play, the ultimate sacrifice. 

“There!” he heard Peter yell and snapped his gaze back to Thanos. They had done it. Thanos was kneeling on the ground, his face and body seemingly frozen. His right arm was being secured by Doctor strange and his feet by Peter’s webbing and Drax holding them down while Mantis was back sitting on top of his neck, using her powers to put him in a trance so they could remove the gauntlet from his left hand. Knowing that there was no turning back, Tony could feel the stress rising in him, but also a sense of calm knowing it would be all over soon. 

That didn’t stop him from giving one last jab at Quill though.

“No sudden movements, Star head!” he called as he quickly walked past the Guardian who had his gun trained on Thanos in case anything went wrong.

“It's Star Lord,” came the muttered response.

Reaching for Thanos’ arm, Tony spared one last look around the battlefield. To his relief, Steve had stood by his word and, alongside Thor, was keeping the army at bay while Team Titan held Thanos in place. With resolve in his heart, Tony gripped the gauntlet tightly and called out for Peter to help him.

“Pete! Come help me get this thing off before he wakes up!”

The kid leapt from where he was standing off to the side to help Tony, “Yup!” 

Peter joined him in pulling the Gauntlet from Thanos, their combined effort slipping the metal glove loose bit by painstaking bit.

“No…” they heard Thanos mutter, unable to do anything else as Mantis held onto the strings of his mind.

They continued to pull harder and harder until they finally felt the gauntlet begin to give. Desperate to get it off, they gave another big tug, but felt some resistance. _Thanos was waking up._

Just as Tony was about to order Peter to pull as hard as he could, a noise sounded off to their right. Squidward had appeared once again. Tony thought he was going to attack them, but instead he asked the same question as earlier, more frantically than before.

“Sire! Shall we commence phase two?!”

“Do… it…” came Thanos' hoarse reply. 

Suddenly the ship above them came to life. A great whirring sound began to fill the air and they could hear the many mechanical squeals as multiple somethings were being locked into place. In the brief moment that everyone was focused on the new threat in the sky, Tony and Peter gave one more final tug and the gauntlet came free, sending Tony and Peter flying backwards. 

_It worked. We did it,_ he thought in astonishment. 

Everyone suddenly seemed to understand what happened. Tony quickly got up and stood there, clutching the gauntlet in his hands. He could see the shocked faces of Steve, Thor, the Guardians and even Peter as he too got up from where he had been flung. Just as he began sliding it on, however, all hell broke loose. 

They finally found out what phase two was. Thanos was raining fire down at everyone on the ground, including his own troops, in a last ditch effort to stop the Avengers. 

Before the gauntlet could be properly fitted, he heard Steve yell out, “Incoming!” and something struck Tony’s side, the impact sending him flying several meters away. Pain wracked his body as Tony hit the ground with a force so strong it felt like he had just been hit by a car. Something exploded not far away from where he last stood, launching dirt and bodies everywhere. 

Tony could faintly hear many more blasts of energy hitting the ground, his ears only picking up their distant echoes and his vision shifting in and out of focus. Not knowing whether the fall had left him paralyzed, much like what happened to Rhodey after Vision’s beam had blown him from the sky, Tony experimentally shifted his limbs. The stabs of pain that rippled through his body made him simultaneously groan from the hurt and sigh in relief, grateful he could still feel something. 

Vehemently wiggling his fingers at the discovery, Tony froze as a question donned on him: _Did I even have the gauntlet on?_ Though some sensation had remained in his body, enough to make movement possible, he couldn’t tell if the metal glove had secured itself to his hand. Tony shook his head--no, it was almost on before the explosion. He had to have it on _._

He had known that it would come down to this, that it had to be him to finish the job after the gauntlet had been removed from Thanos. Even five years ago on Titan, Tony anticipated the moment that he would give his life for the universe, stop the threat he had seen coming since that portal opened in 2012 and brought devastation down on New York. However, he had not been ready to feel the weight of all he was about to give up. Everything he had gained in this life was so very precious to him: his daughter and surrogate sons, his wife, all the other people whom he held most dear. If he did this, he would never get to see them again. 

When his parents died, Tony had been left feeling truly and thoroughly alone. Never did he think that he'd find them again, in Pepper, Rhodey, Peter... and Steve Rogers of all people. 

Knowing that these people actually reciprocate his feelings and had been in this fight alongside him, right up until the end, made Tony’s weary heart sigh in content. He would give anything for them to live long and happy lives, even if it meant he couldn’t be a part of them. His part in their story had come to an end, and that was okay. The endgame had finally arrived; he could rest now.

Cradling the image of his new family in his mind’s eye, their smiling faces filling his heart to the brim, Tony resolutely raised his right hand and brought his thumb and middle finger together. He knew what he had to do, and in that moment, he knew he had the strength to do it.

_Whatever it takes._

And with that final thought, Tony Stark closed his eyes... and snapped.


	12. The Real Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Major Character Death in this chapter

Tony found himself to be lying on the ground, in the same spot as he was before. Silence had befallen the battlefield, but his mind was still ringing with the same intensity.

_Am I dead? Wait, corpses can’t feel the ground under them, can they? No, I can’t be dead. Did I survive the snap then?_

But he knew that couldn’t be right either. He’d seen what using the gauntlet did to people and while what he felt was fifty kinds of pain, it was no different from the moment before he snapped. He opened his eyes and saw that he was laying on his back, covered in dirt and extremely sore from whatever had hit him. He heard Peter’s distant voice.

“Mr. Stark!” Tony assumed the kid was yelling, but everything was still muffled. Iron-clad hands suddenly wrapped around his arm, the contact soothing his buzzing mind and allowing him to make out the kid’s blurry outline. 

“Tony, are you okay?!” 

He could hear the panic in Peter’s voice as this time it came in clearer, his hearing steadily coming back to him. He probably looked dead where he was laying on the ground. He sure as hell felt like it. 

“I- I’m okay,” he managed to wheeze out. He was slowly recovering from whatever it was that hit him. 

What had even happened? Had he snapped? Did it work? 

_Did I even have the gauntlet on?_

So many questions were filtering through Tony’s mind. He wasn’t given much time to ponder their meaning however, for he felt Peter’s grasp being ripped violently from his arm as much wider hands wound around his wrist. Without warning he felt himself being ripped from the ground, his shoulder screaming in protest as it was almost yanked from its socket. Dangling a few feet off the ground, his head swimming from the unwanted movement, he winced as his wrist was twisted around to get a better look at the back of his palm.

“What did you do Stark? Where is it??” he heard Thanos’s gravelly voice roar, very much awake from the trance Mantis had put him under.

The fog in Tony's vision finally cleared enough to see the sharp lines of the mad Titan’s face scrunched in confusion, but also to see his gauntlet-less hand currently being crushed in Thanos’ grip. 

He never had the gauntlet on.

“Tony!” came a panicked yell, high-pitched tones that could only belong to Peter. He snapped his head over to look at the kid. What had gotten his attention? 

Looking at Peter he saw that his eyes were focused on something off to his left. Even trapped in Thanos’ unyielding grasp, Tony’s body coiled with tension, preparing himself to spring free and fight whatever it was Peter had seen to make him so afraid. 

Nothing could prepare Tony for what he saw.

As his vision quickly followed the line of sight Peter had drawn for him, his eyes fell on Steve Rogers, standing tall with the gauntlet secured on his own hand.

Steve had been the one to knock into Tony to cover him. He had taken the gauntlet off of Tony as they fell. 

Tony watched as bolts of energy surged out of the stones and wrapped themselves around Steve’s arm and the right side of his chest, burning into his skin. He struggled to free himself, wanting nothing more than to talk him down, make him give Tony the gauntlet back, but it was too late. Steve turned to face him and gave that charming smile only Steve could muster.

“For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what was right. _Whatever it takes_.”

Thanos must have sensed what was coming because he suddenly let go of Tony, causing him to crash back to the ground with a bone-rattling thud, his breath stolen once more as he collided harshly with the ground, and made a mad lunge at Steve. Steve was ready for this, however, and acted.

 _SNAP._

Thanos stopped in his tracks. 

At first there was just silence, then all around them aliens began turning to ash and the air was thick with their vanishing bodies. Distant screeches faded away into nothing, their owners having been wiped from existence, and an eerie quiet settled over the battlefield. Thanos’ knees crumpled underneath him, his hulking form becoming impossibly small as he sat down on a chunk of concrete below. He watched on with dread-filled eyes as his army disintegrated, relief only returning to his face as he flaked away along with them. 

It was over. The mad Titan was finally gone.

Tony didn’t care about any of it at that moment though. All he could focus on was Steve who had stumbled a few steps away, coming to a stop as he crashed against a giant piece of what had been the Avengers compound an hour prior, the broken Avenger’s symbol, before he slid down to rest in front of the looming “A”. Tony couldn’t help but see the sadistic irony in the situation. Steve’s final resting place was against the symbol for their team, the family they had grown to be, and for this to be where he died, against the now broken and cracked “A”, symbolized perfectly how the Avenger’s team was going to feel without him: broken. 

Tony picked himself off the ground and rushed over to where Steve was sitting, ignoring his once again protesting body.

“Friday? Status!” he barked. 

How could Steve be so stupid? How could he do that when he knew Tony was going to make the sacrifice? 

It was supposed to be him.

“Life functions critical,” she replied in a somber tone. 

He began frantically applying the salve he designed to treat burns and wounds during battle. It was the same substance he used on himself when Thanos had stabbed him and on Bruce after he had snapped everyone back to life. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t realize Steve had turned his head slightly to look at him until he heard his soft voice.

“Tony… stop, it’s okay,” he mumbled, a small smile on his face. “I’ve been ready for this moment since I made the decision to put that bird in the ice. These few extra years were great, but I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Tony wasn’t ready to accept this. This couldn’t be happening. Steve was the super soldier. Captain America! He couldn’t die. Not here, not now.

“Don’t you even go there Captain. You’re going to be fine, you have to be. I’m going to get you help.” He turned to move away when he felt fingers wrap around his wrist loosely, much gentler than those of Thanos from before. 

“Tony…” Steve’s voice strained. Tony could tell that he was slowly losing strength. He didn’t have the strength to fight him on this now, so he focused all of his attention on Steve.

“Don’t blame yourself for this like I know you’re going to do. I knew what I signed up for and I'm perfectly okay with the consequences. This is my choice.” His voice was getting quieter and more hoarse as he talked. 

“Go live your life with your family. You deserve it Tony, you really do…” he coughed a bit before continuing, “Don’t shut down, don’t push everyone away again. You go and have that dinner you wanted before all of this happened; Go celebrate life with the Avengers. Tony… I know I lied in the past, but I meant it when I said we’re your family. I would never lie about that. So, take the night off and be just that for once. And none of that funeral nonsense, I had my fill after I went into the ice. Besides, the world’s got enough of me and my sacrifices with all those museums and monuments they insisted they put up. So, please, forget all of that and hold on to what you have right in front of you. I may have left you alone once, but I’m not doing it again.”

Tony couldn’t help but let a few tears fall. Steve, although they had their many differences, was one of his best friends in the Avengers and he didn’t know what he was going to do without him. It felt wrong to even imagine him not being there. Even when he and Steve went their separate ways after the Sokovia Accords, Steve had left the phone so Tony could always reach him and Tony had taken comfort in knowing that he’d always be there, but this time Tony wouldn’t be able to reach Steve where he was going. He wouldn’t be around to help him get out of all the stupid messes he found himself in. Despite this looming thought he managed to put on a brave face to honour Steve’s wishes.

“You got it pal. I’ll have the biggest Avengers family dinner there ever was.”

Steve smiled weakly and moved his eyes to focus on something behind Tony. Giving Steve’s good arm one last squeeze, he stood up and turned to face whatever Steve was looking at. Bucky had made his way over as Tony was talking with Steve and was now waiting for his turn with his fallen friend. Moving back to give them privacy, Tony lightly grabbed Bucky’s arm as he passed.

“Listen, I’m really sorry.” 

Tony didn’t even know what he was apologizing for. The snap? The whole fight? Everything? Bucky gave him a respectful nod but his eyes didn't quite meet Tonys, seeming cool and distant. He shifted his arm out of Tonys grasp and made his way to Steve, kneeling in front of him. 

Tony could empathize with Bucky. He knew what it was like to see a dying friend. Tony was forced to watch as Rhodey fell from the sky in a metal death trap. He remembered the sinking feeling of panic and dread washing over him as he finally reached him. At that moment he was sure that he was dead. He also remembered the time where Happy had been in the hospital after the explosion caused by Aldrich Killian and his henchmen. How uncertain it was of whether he would pull through. Unlike now though, his friends had made it out alive and Tony was extremely sorry he couldn’t give the same outcome to Bucky. He moved to step away from where Bucky was kneeling in front of Steve, but his feet seemed to be frozen onto the ground beneath him. 

“Hey,” Steve managed with considerable effort, the gravel in his voice causing Bucky to look away with a pained expression. 

Steve then raised a fumbling hand, trying to bring it up to Bucky’s cheek, but failed as his remaining strength gave out on him. Seeing this, Bucky caught his falling hand and brought it up for him, allowing the hand to cup the right side of his face. Tony’s heart clenched as he wondered if Steve did this because his vision was fading, if this was a final bid to visualize his old friend.

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” he told Bucky with a smile on his face despite the fact that Tony could see the light fading from his eyes. Bucky let out a shaky breath, a tear rolling down his left cheek for his best friend’s quickly fading form.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you,” he replied, his voice wavering. 

Tony could tell he was trying to keep it together in front of Steve. He could also see the fondness that emanated from this interaction between them. It was something he felt when he and Rhodey would quip with one another. It was the highest level of love and respect in a friendship and it made Tony’s heart clench as he witnessed the desperation to hold on to that friendship from Bucky. In the same way that Peter had begged Tony to not let him go as he was snapped away, Bucky was silently begging for Steve to not go. He watched on sadly as Bucky tightened his grip on Steve's hand; a last ditch effort to connect with his best friend, his little brother, the only living reminder of his past before becoming the Winter Soldier. Almost as if willing the life to flow back into Steve. It was at that moment, however, that the light disappeared from Steve’s eyes completely and Tony knew he was gone. The hand that Bucky held to his face slipped through his grasp, settling on the ground beside him. Bucky didn’t move from his kneeling position in front of Steve, instead choosing to brush his hand over Steve's now lifeless eyes to close them, letting his hand drift to rest on his chest and the dust-stained star on top of it.

The look on Bucky’s face brought Tony a rush of unwanted memories, ones he hadn't wanted to face for the longest time but could no longer push away. It brought him back to the exact moment that his own family had been torn away, the moment he had learned that his parents were dead. The moment when his life had changed forever.

_It was a normal day for Tony. He had gotten up at noon, having stayed up until early dawn tinkering in his lab like normal, and made his way back down to his lab in the basement, steaming cup of coffee in hand. It was just him and Jarvis home, his parents having left for their vacation the evening before. Tony was used to this though. The frequent trips, always being gone. It was something he had grown up with and learned to not care about. It was just a fact in his life._

_Brushing his slight annoyance at them aside, he resumed working on a schematic for a new weapon his father was building. He had asked for Tony’s assistance on the project, something that surprised him greatly (because when had Howard Stark ever asked for his help?), but he had agreed to do it when his mother had come to talk to him privately. She had told him that his dad was trying to do better, making an effort to include him on more things in the business as one day he’d be running it. He had wanted to say no, shove it in his face, but the way his mother had pleaded for him to try and get along was enough to make him give in._

_Finishing the initial design, he was impressed with what he had laid out, the thought that his father may even like it briefly crossing his mind. Stepping back to admire his work, he turned when he heard Jarvis walk through the lab doors._

_“Hey J, want to check out this weapon…” the rest of his sentence faded away as he saw the look on the butler’s face. He instantly knew something was wrong._

_“Uh, what’s up? What did I do this time?” he asked as he wracked his brain. He didn’t come up with anything, though, as he honestly hadn’t done anything recently to warrant this reaction._

_“Your parents-” he started, but Tony cut him off._

_“-Are extending their vacation, right? I don’t even want to hear it Jarvis, its been made abundantly clear that they can and will do whatever they want! I don't need their second-hand apologies!" he snapped, annoyance flaring up inside him making it seem like he was burning from within. His last conversation with his parents hadn’t been a pleasant one and it wouldn’t be the first time his dad did this either, made an impromptu extension to their outings just so he could avoid dealing with him. He was tired of them pretending that it was anything more._

_“No, Anthony," Jarvis said weakly, running a hand through his immaculately gelled hair. Something he never did._

_"There was an accident. They… they didn’t make it.”_

_He looked truly heartbroken that he had to tell Tony the news, his eyes swimming with the notion of him wishing it wasn’t true._

_It took Tony a few seconds to process the information. Slowly, the meaning behind the words sank in: His parents were dead. It all hit him at once, rushing through his body like ice cold water and extinguishing the fire from his anger just moments before. He collapsed into the chair next to him and stared out the window across from his desk, his mind weirdly calm. He had always seen people start to scream or cry at the news that their closest loved ones had died, but at that moment he didn’t want to do either. All he wanted to do was sit there and stare out the window, his mind numbingly blank. He vaguely registered that Jarvis had come up behind him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but it didn’t bring him any consolation. The only thing that could stop the internal dread washing over was the thing that was causing it, and in one of the few moments of his life that he needed them, they couldn’t be there._

_His parents were gone, and this time they weren’t coming back._

Tony turned away, breaking out of the memory he had found himself in. He couldn’t stand to watch the scene unfold anymore. Bucky was now grieving on a level that few of them had personal encounters with, but one Tony knew too well. It was a twisted kind of karma really, as Bucky was the reason he knew that grief. Bucky, or the Winter soldier more specifically, had taken his parents away from him, taken his mom away from him, and that was something that caused him to grieve for years. Hell, he was still grieving, which is why he had the Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing machine created. It was probably with the help of this, his parents fresh in his mind when he found out the truth, that had caused his instantaneous rage filled reaction towards Bucky. To find out, to actually see, what had happened to his parents, to watch his mom die, at the hands of someone five feet away from him had sent him into a deranged frenzy of revenge. In that moment he hadn’t cared if it wasn’t actually Bucky, all he saw was the shell of the person who had done it and the only thought in his mind was that he had to die, had to feel what he had felt that night when his parents were ripped from his life. It was not something he was proud of, but grief took him places he’d never been before. He had been going about life as any normal teenager back then, not a care in the world, thinking everything would always be alright or at least no worse than it already was. It never crossed his mind that maybe one day everything would be taken away. 

The weeks following his parents deaths had been like none other before. Time had practically ceased to exist. He had taken their deaths hard, especially his mother’s. The grief of it all had hit him like a ton of bricks once the news had sunk in; the mad scramble of his mind desperately trying to say it wasn’t true, that they weren't gone. He didn’t want to believe it, instead choosing to live in a reality where they would be coming back home again. He could remember the countless nights where he would lay in bed and go over the fact that his mom would never wrap him in her embrace or even just a simple smile again. There would be no more laughing or spending quality time together beside the piano, hearing the tinkling of keys mix with the melody of her voice. The last moment he saw them was always replaying in his mind, cycling over and over, like a horror movie with no end or happy ending. The thoughts of “could I have stopped this?” and “Why didn’t I cherish the time with her more?” followed him around constantly even though he knew there was nothing he could have done, that he couldn’t have known about what was going to happen. 

He stopped eating, he barely slept, and he threw all his time into his projects, as they were the only things that could ease his mind and make him feel somewhat normal again. This had actually been when he created Dum-E. Thinking back on it now, the creation had probably been willed into his mind in a mad attempt to fill the hole his parents' deaths had caused deep inside him. He’d even pushed his concerns over his dad so far down that even he couldn’t reach them, hid them where they couldn’t cause any more pain, and convinced himself that the man didn’t deserve his empathy. But Tony had a different perspective now, a changed mindset that allowed him to sympathize with Bucky. He had begun to forgive Bucky over the years along with Steve. The five years of living on his farm house with Pepper and Morgan had taught him that there was more to life than grudges and hate and he knew that he didn’t want to live his life that way anymore. Seeing Bucky here, in front of his Steve, reaffirmed that Tony didn’t want to hold on to any of his hate towards him anymore and any lasting resentment faded away. While Tony may not have been able to get his parents back, he had instead found the family he needed with the Avengers, with Pepper, Morgan, and Peter, and in this moment he knew how lucky he truly was. 

Glancing around to see what was happening behind him during this time, he saw that more of the Avengers had gathered around and were watching on sadly, realizing what had happened. They had won, but what had it cost? Tony had succeeded in keeping his family safe, in keeping Peter safe, but he had lost a brother along the way. Not really knowing what to do, Tony realized that Clint had started moving forward. Wondering what he was going to do, he was surprised when he lowered himself into a respectful kneel to honour Steve in the highest way you could after a sacrifice in battle. Quickly following suit, Tony began to kneel and saw the rest of the Avengers doing the same. He watched from his place on the ground as Thor, Peter, Strange, Wanda, Quill, and even Captain Marvel who barely knew him, kneeled for their lost comrade and more importantly, a member of their family. When they go into battle with one another, they trust each other with their lives and that creates a bond that ties people together for as long as they live. One thing for sure was that after all they had been through, all he had given up for them, Steve Rogers had left a mark on their hearts forever.

\--

The air was heavy with sorrow as everyone made their way to the front of the war zone. It honestly felt like a dream to Tony. On one hand they had finally defeated Thanos and gotten everyone back, but now they finally had time to reflect on all that they had to lose in the process. Vision, Natasha, Gamora, Steve. All great people who gave their life for the cause, whether voluntary or not. Pinching the bridge of his nose trying to stem the headache he was getting, Tony watched as the last of the people made their way to gather around where Doctor Strange was hovering above the rest. Just as when he had rallied the troops, he was now about to address what had happened and give everyone an opportunity to return home safely through his portals. Bucky had already been transferred through a private portal with Steve’s body to keep him away from the eager eyes and to get everything in order to have a private burial. Tony had told Bucky Steve’s wishes and he had just nodded and quietly told Tony that he was going to take him to be buried next to Peggy. He may not have lived his life with her, but she was his first and only true love. It only made sense for that to be his final resting place. Though Tony knew their relationship was deeper than just love. Peggy had moved on once Steve had gone into the ice, lived a life with an adoring husband whom she had kids with, but Peggy and Steve had always had this underlying connection, this friendship, that knew no bounds. Steve was being buried next to her to honour this bond and give him and their friendship the final closure it deserved.

Breaking out of his thoughts, he found himself standing over to the left and out of the way of the approaching crowd. He didn’t want to be around anyone at the moment and frankly, he didn’t care about Strange’s speech. All that was on his mind was the sacrifice Steve had just made. He just couldn’t believe Steve was gone. There had been almost no time to react. Once they got the gauntlet everything became a giant blur until Steve’s face came clear into view, the gauntlet raised in one hand and the calm look of finality of his face. 

A hand appearing on his shoulder startled him. Turning to see who it belonged to, relief washed over him as he recognized the face to be Rhodey’s. _Thank God he’s okay._

“Look who made it out alive!” Rhodey started on him hotly. “What the hell were you thinking Tony? I saw you with that gauntlet!”

Inwardly Tony chuckled. Rhodey was currently chewing him out in the same manner as when Tony had jumped on Peter’s case after his run in with the Gauntlet. A sinking feeling started to form in his stomach. _Maybe the kid gets it from me, the recklessness._ He shook the thought from his brain and addressed Rhodey in a lighthearted manner. He knew the gravity of everything that had happened, but he was done with all the seriousness. His mind needed a serious break from it all.

“Oh come on sourpatch, you’re just angry because you couldn't survive without me!” He truly understood why Rhodey was upset though, it was the same reason he had gotten angry at Peter, and why Tony was angry at Steve now. Losing someone hurt, and no one ever wanted to have to go through that pain. He was grateful though, that Steve saved Tony's family from having to go through that pain because of him.

“More like live a stress free life without you,” Rhodey scoffed. Although they were joking with one another they both knew the real meaning behind their words. _I’m glad you’re okay._

Rhodey stepped closer to bring Tony into a quick hug, patting his back roughly but not without care.

“You’re an idiot,” he said as he pulled out of the hug.

“And you love me!” he responded cheekily, glad to have the banter to take his mind off of everything, even if it was just for a moment. 

Rhodey rolled his eyes good naturedly and turned to make his way back to where Strange was giving his speech. Glad that his best friend was okay, he noticed that Peter was also making his way towards him. Walking up to Tony he could see that the kid’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. Shifting back from the lighthearted interaction with Rhodey, he focused all his attention on Peter. He extended his right arm out to the kid and pulled him close, not saying a word. The simple gesture was enough to say _I’m here and I’m not going anywhere._ He knew exactly how the kid was feeling. Peter practically melted into Tony’s side and stayed there, not seeming to want to move. This was perfectly okay with him, as feeling the kid next to him was a great comfort to him too. After what they just went through they needed all the comfort they could get. 

Tony even decided to take it a step further and do what he had wanted to do earlier. They had all been through hell and survived so, yeah, he was going to show Peter some love. This was his kid and he wasn’t afraid to show it. He squeezed Peter closer to him and kissed him on the top of his head. It was a way for him to show Peter that he truly cared for him and appreciated him being there. Tony figured it was okay because the kid didn’t move or even question it. He had a feeling Peter didn’t mind the spontaneous PDA after everything he had been through. Family on his mind, his thoughts drifted to Pepper. She had also left already, as she wanted to check in on Morgan and Happy. One thing Tony knew for sure was that they were all going to spend some quality family time together after this.

He noticed that everyone had finally finished gathering around, Strange started making his speech, but was too tired to care. Instead he focused on Peter beside him.

“You okay Pete?” he asked, breaking the silence. The kid didn’t move from where he was planted at Tony’s side.

“I don’t know… I’m going to miss him Tony. Even though I never really knew him, the world always had Captain America, even when he went into the ice. But now, knowing he’s really gone… it’s different. ” The defeat was evident in his voice.

“I know, I’m going to miss him too. We have to focus on each other though, okay Pete? We made it through this, we survived Thanos, and Steve, he wouldn’t want us to focus on his death. He’d want us to live on and cherish what we have.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m glad I have you and Aunt May.”

“I’m glad I have you too, kid.” He gave Peter a gentle squeeze with the arm that was wrapped around him and was about to say something else when Peter interrupted.

“Oh my God, May! I forgot all about her! Is she alright? Where is she? She’s going to kill me when I see her! I promised that I wasn’t going to run off on my own again, but I just saw the giant circle ship in the sky and-”

Tony cut him off with a hearty laugh. 

“Easy kid, slow down. Take a deep breath. I’ve got your Aunt May covered.”

He felt Peter sigh in relief. Tony had forgotten that he hadn’t told Peter his plan as he’d been so wrapped up with everything that had happened with Thanos and Steve.

“Sorry kid, I meant to tell you. As soon as I knew the second snap had worked, I told Friday to send a message to Happy about locating her. I just got a message back now saying that he found her. She’s okay, but I’m a little foggy on the details. All I got was ‘went feral’, ‘people in the house’, and something about a frying pan before Happy’s voicemail cut off, so I decided to just bring you and your Aunt back to my place until you both can find a place to stay.”

“Yeah, that definitely sounds like Aunt May” he responded wryly and paused for a moment before looking up at Tony in surprise, his big eyes widening, “Wait, I’m going to live with you?” 

Tony was surprised that he sounded so shocked. “Uh, yeah. What, you didn't think I was going to let you live on the street now, did you? I’m not heartless Pete.”

“No! I didn’t mean that, I was just-”

“Kid, relax,” Tony chuckled slightly despite the sadness he was feeling about everything. “It’s okay, I know what you meant.”

Tony gave Peter a reassuring smile and looked over to see a bunch of glowing portals with people starting to mill through them. He then noticed Strange was walking over to him.

“Look kid, there’s your ride. I’m going to have you go through first, but I’ll be right behind you okay? I just need to see Strange again before I go.”

“Okay sounds good Mr. Stark,” he easily agreed. Tony could tell that he was exhausted.

“To your house, I presume?” Strange asked as he approached. Tony nodded and a moment later, a crackling portal appeared in front of him and Peter. He could see his farm house through it, Pepper standing on the lawn with Morgan in her arms in the distance. He couldn’t wait to get back so he could hug them and never let go.

“Go ahead Pete, I’ll be right behind you.”

Watching him walk through the portal, he turned to face Strange.

“Was that the one in fourteen million?” He needed to make sure that that was the only play. That there was nothing else he could have done.

“Yes. If I told you what Steve was going to do, it wouldn’t have happened. You wouldn’t have let it happen, but it was the only way to win against Thanos.”

Tony had figured that this was the case, but hearing it out loud was weirdly reassuring. 

“Okay,” he sighed before continuing, “Thank you for everything you did; we wouldn’t have won without all the extra manpower you brought”

“I wish I could have done more to help. I really wish there was another way this could have happened.”

Tony smiled sadly, “I know. By the way, you had me fooled for a hot minute with that ‘I won’t hesitate to let either of you die’ bullshit on Titan, but I know now that you never meant it. You’re nothing more than a big caped softie.” 

Strange raised his eyebrows in fake surprise. “I’m the softie? What about you? I saw you give Peter a kiss on the head earlier,” he stated matter of factly. 

“Well, no shit Sherlock. That’s my kid and I will shower him with love and affection any time I please!” he retorted, his words not having any real edge.

Strange just smiled kindly. Tony figured he felt bad for knowing what was going to happen between himself and Peter after he had looked through the future of possibilities against their fight with Thanos. He couldn’t imagine living in a world where you knew all the bad things that were going to happen, but couldn’t tell anyone about them. Strange's face turned serious again. 

“Really Tony, is there anything I can do to help at all before I go?”

Tony thought for a moment and then remembered Steve’s last wishes.

“Actually there is something else you could do for me, something I need your help with.”

“Name it.” 

He then proceeded to tell Strange about his elaborate plan to host a huge dinner, a sort of celebration of life, the next day with all of the Avengers. He needed Strange to do what he did earlier in order to tell everyone invited about the plan.

“If you could tell everyone to meet at my place at four o’clock that would be great. Obviously you’re invited, and your friend Wong too.” he finished.

“It would be my honour Stark. I’ll see that it’s done.” 

Satisfied Strange would get the job done, he turned and headed through the portal. It was this reality of going home, actually stepping off of the battlefield, that made him realize how lucky he was to come out of the fight alive, to come back to his family. So many times in their long journey to defeat Thanos he had believed that he’d never make it out alive. Their one way trip to Titan, his entrapment in space with Nebula for two weeks after Thanos had stabbed him, and, of course, the moment he had made his final move to snap. But he had done the impossible and made it out alive, made it back to his family.

He could now settle down for real, have a real chance at finding true happiness, and for better or worse, he had Steve Rogers to thank for that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's Tony's chapter! He lives!! Steve had to die though for that to happen, so hopefully you don't hate me too much for that. Get ready for Peter's section next. From this point on, the story is basically my own so I'm excited to share this half :D


	13. Peter's Section - Perfectly Not Confusing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last our boy Peter. I know I've posted three days in a row, but after this chapter drop it'll go back to every other day. Peter's section was one of my favourites to write, so I hope you guys like it! Things will be different now; this half of the story is basically all original and there were lots of fun things to play with now that Tony didn't die ;)

Peter’s world had been turned upside down. 

In the span of only a couple of hours, he had awoken to find himself alone on Titan, rescued and brought to battle against Thanos with Doctor Strange, and now he was walking through a portal onto the property of what he had been told was Tony Stark’s house. His brain was firing at a thousand miles a minute. Everything he thought he knew was wrong, as five years had apparently passed since the last time he remembered anything. He thought back to that very moment now, that moment where his world had been changed forever.

_At first all he was aware of was darkness. He seemed to be floating, separated but together at the same time. It was a feeling that Peter had never experienced before, yet it was weirdly similar to waiting for the big drop on a roller coaster, unsure of exactly when the gears would unlock and you would spiral into the free fall. It seemed to go on forever, frozen in time, yet ended as quick as a snap. Suddenly, he felt himself moving, his being seemingly pushing back together, each atom mending itself to its proper state at a dizzying speed. It was an overwhelming sensation, almost too much. Cancel that, most definitely too much. He didn’t know how much more he could take when he realized he could breathe again, and that it had stopped._

_Everything was still, quiet, and a new sensation slowly began to sink in. He was laying on something hard, he could actually feel his body pressing against the cold surface below, and the distinct sharp pain of many rocks dug into his back. In a panic his eyes flew open and he bolted upright, the blood rushing from his face as he did so making the world in front of him spin, much like the experience of looking in a funhouse mirror._ **_Wow, why does it feel like I'm at the amusement park, minus all the amusement?_ **

_Allowing his body to adjust to the sudden movement, the world finally stopped spinning and allowed him to focus on his surroundings. Slowly standing up to prevent the dizziness from happening again, he realized that he didn’t immediately know where he was. Everything was unfamiliar to him, confusing, as nothing he looked at as he scanned the horizon triggered any sort of familiarity._

_Continuing to search for anything to help him figure out where he was, something glinting on the ground in the distance suddenly caught his attention. Making his way over to inspect what it was, he picked the item off the ground and dusted it off, revealing a broken portion of a gold face plate, badly damaged with cracks and chips but also weathered from the sands, looking as if it had been forgotten a long time ago._

_Flipping it over, Peter noticed a small inscription on the inside. Printed in small but legible letters was a label:_

_“Property of Tony Stark”._

_It was like a switch had been flipped on in his brain; everything came rushing back to him, flooding into his mind like a movie on fast forward. His school trip to the MoMA, the aliens, the ship, Titan, Thanos, and Mr. Stark’s concerned face all rushed through his mind at once, making him violently shake his head to reorient his mind. Almost as soon as it had come back to him, it stopped, and he was left standing alone on the planet that he now remembered he had last been fighting Thanos._

_“Mr. Stark?” he rasped, his dry throat making it difficult to talk. It felt like he hadn’t used his voice in years, but that couldn’t be true, he was just with Mr. Stark. Thanos had gained the upper hand on them, seemingly won, but he was still here. They hadn’t lost yet!_

_“Tony?!” he yelled louder this time, beginning to become frantic._

_Everywhere he turned there was just more red dirt, not a soul in sight. The planet was empty and he was getting scared. Where had everyone gone? Surely Mr. Stark wouldn’t have left him there alone, they were in space! Peter squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the horrifyingly alien scene, his heart racing a mile per minute. He could feel himself starting to hyperventilate, blood pounding in his ears._

_“Kid?” he heard a voice call out, penetrating the throbbing in his head._

_“Tony!” he exclaimed, eyes snapping back open and excitedly looking around for his_ _dad ..._ _father figure ..._ _favourite male human being_ _... m-mentor??_ **_Gee, some things never change._ **

_However, this spiral of confused name-calling skidded to a halt as his vision settled on not Mr. Stark, but that Quill man instead._

_“Oh. Hey.” The excitement high he was riding on slowly petered out, grateful to see anyone at all but the hopes he’d put on it being Mr. Stark were sorely wounded._

_Quill, on the other hand, was looking about as wounded as Peter felt, resting a moody hand on his hip. “Thanks for the warm welcome, dude. Would have thought you’d be more siked to see your favourite name twin.”_

_Peter ran a hand over his face, trying to collect himself. He didn’t have the energy to care before, but now felt embarrassed about how he reacted. And he had totally forgotten that Quill’s first name was Peter too. “Sorry man, I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, I was just- looking for someone else before.”_

_Quill gave him an uneasy look. “So, you haven’t found him yet either?”_

_That was the last thing he wanted to hear. Peter's eyes widened, the panic from before beginning to crawl back into his chest._

_“I mean, I haven’t spent that long looking. Just found my family, they're waiting over there,” he pointed, bringing Peter’s attention to the other two Guardians, or, that’s at least what they had called themselves, standing by the far ridge. “Just found you, but that bossy man in the metal suit still isn’t accounted for. Same with Nebula, and my ship now that I think of it! Man, if that son of a bitch stole it then so help me God, I will…”_

_Though Quill’s angry rant continued, Peter had zoned it out and his eyes fell shut once more. Mr. Stark had left him,_ **_actually_ ** _left him. The panic which had already begun to set in intensified its assault on his senses, his skin prickling as he felt sweat cling to his body. Taking deep breaths to stop the oncoming anxiety attack, he was so focused on trying to calm himself down that a sudden hand on his shoulder caused him to yell out in surprise. Whipping around, he started punching whatever had grabbed him, half expecting it to be Thanos, when a familiar voice rang out._

_“Peter! Calm down, it's me,” came the deep tones of whom Peter knew to be Doctor Strange._

_He immediately stopped fighting and opened his eyes. Sure enough, Strange was standing in front of him, the cape Peter had tried to introduce himself to earlier flowing around his shoulders._

_“Oh, the wizard, right… sorry for punching you,” he apologized, feeling stupid for the second time in mere minutes about his reactions._

_“Don’t worry about it. Now everyone, we don’t have a lot of time.”_

_The first part was addressed to Peter but the last seemed to be for a group of people. Who was he talking to? It was only the two of them there. Glancing behind him he saw that Quill, Mantis, and Drax had all assembled behind him while he was fighting Strange._ ** _Oh yeah, I knew they were here too._** _His frazzled brain was getting the better of him, making it difficult to think clearly. On top of that was his deep confusion as to where Mr. Stark went, a sinking feeling rose up in him as he realized something bad must have happened to make him leave. He was about to raise one of the million questions he had when Strange started to address the group again._

_“This is going to be confusing, but I need you to not question anything I say. It’s been five years: Thanos succeeded in wiping out half the universe. The ones that he left behind were able to reverse what he did, but they need us now. They’re currently fighting against Thanos again and we’re going to help.” He spoke calmly and with authority so that none of them question out loud all he had just revealed._

_Five years? Thanos had_ **_won?_ ** _What happened to Mr. Stark? Had he been one of the people to survive? What about his Aunt May? Man, she was going to kill him. His mind once again racing, he watched as Strange turned and began waving his arms in a circular motion, causing one of his magic yellow circles to appear. In it, Peter saw lush green grass, lots of tall trees, and in the distance something that looked a lot like a city._ Where was he taking them? 

_"This is Wakanda,” he stated before pausing. When he spoke again he seemed to be talking more to the Guardians, “It’s on Earth. I want you to wait for me there while I inform the rest of the troops.”_

_Quill’s mouth had been agape for most of Strange’s speech, Peter having checked in on his friend multiple times to make sure the man was hearing the same things that he was. Now seeming to shake out of his daze, he stepped forward and looked like he wanted to argue, but a hard stare from Strange silenced the words he had not yet voiced. Shutting his mouth and nodding, he fell in line with the Guardians once more and allowed himself to be led alongside them and Peter through the sparking circle._

_The four of them walked through and were instantly met with a soft breeze, so delicate and fresh unlike the air quality on Titan. The soft grass beneath his feet was much welcomed too, a harsh contrast to the hard and rocky desert wasteland of a planet he had just left. This, along with the blue sky and shining sun above, caused a calm sense of familiarity to wash over him. Breathing in Earth’s air deeply brought Peter the remaining strength he didn’t know he was lacking._

_It wasn’t long before Strange made his appearance back in Wakanda, having finally informed everyone of the plans for the much needed assist in the battle currently being fought in New York. Strange had told them that he was going to open up all the portals once they made their own arrival to the battlefield from theirs in Wakanda. As the original Titan team lined up with Sergeant Barnes, Falcon, the Scarlet Witch, a_ **_walking tree_ ** _, the cat-man from Germany who was apparently king of Wakanda, as well as the hundreds of Wakandan soldiers standing tall behind them, Peter overheard Sam tell Strange to open up their portal on the left to announce their arrival to Captain America, whom Strange had said needed their help first. He wasn’t sure the purpose behind it, but Strange just gave Sam a look and agreed, probably figuring it would take up time they didn’t have to protest._

_With everyone finally in position, Strange began waving his hands once again and a huge portal opened up in front of them revealing a dark and gloomy scene. The sky was so unlike the clear sky of Wakanda, clouds thoroughly covering any inch of sun trying to peek through. Looking closer, he also noticed that the whole area seemed to be destroyed, so much so that he didn’t even recognize what part of New York they were in. He didn’t have time to analyze any further, however, as it was his turn to finally come in. Shooting his web at a high tree branch in front of him, he swung into the battle, landing in a badass superhero pose like he had always wanted to do. Retracting his helmet as he stood, he had to stop himself from smiling as he thought about the epic entrance he had just made._

Walking through the portal now, though, was a totally different experience. After all they had just gone through, having to watch Captain America die, all he wanted to do was lay on the ground and take a very long nap. 

Looking around as he walked, he noticed that he was on a big forest property that sat right by a lake. From his position he could see Tony’s house just up and off to the left of where he was standing. It was a decent sized house, fitted with a completely wooden exterior that gave it a nice cozy cottage vibe: Very different from what Peter had been expecting. As he scanned over the house and continued walking closer to it, he suddenly realized that there was a group of people standing outside, probably twenty feet away from him. Taking a closer look, he felt an unexpected amount of emotion flair up inside of him. Standing to the right of the group was his Aunt May.

“Peter!” she cried as she spotted him walking towards them, her voice full of concern and relief. He started making his way over to her as fast as his burning legs would allow him. 

“Oh my god, Peter! You’re alright! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?” He could see the tears streaming down her face as he approached. Finally reaching her, he only quickly noticed Happy and Pepper standing next to her before he was brought in for his second bone-crushing hug of the day. 

“I’m alright Aunt May,” he replied, his words muffled due to the fact that May was squeezing his face into her shoulder. Her hug was so comforting and he was so tired that he almost fell asleep standing there in her embrace, but was broken out of his trance when she pulled away and held him at arm’s length in a familiar and no less foreboding manner. 

“Peter Benjamin Parker, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea the stress you caused me when I got a phone call saying you’d left the bus on your trip to the MoMA, while _aliens_ were invading Earth?” Peter cringed at the anger in her voice. She was really mad, the veins popping out on her forehead were enough to tell him that, let alone the frequency in which she was yelling at him.

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when she started yelling again. “Uh-uh, I am not done with you mister. Space! You went to space! You’re sixteen! You shouldn’t be doing those types of things! You could have _died_ up there and what was I supposed to do then? I swear Peter, if I wasn’t snapped away too I don’t know what I would have done.” She was breathing heavily by the time she finished yelling, but Peter knew she was just scared. Ever since he was left in her care after his parents had died, and then his Uncle Ben, they were all that the other had. It wasn’t something they spoke about, not wanting to bring the bad memories associated with it to the surface. This was the closest that Peter had ever been to hearing it out loud and it ripped his heart out.

“I’m really sorry Aunt May,” he mumbled sadly, eyes trained on the ground, but then looked up at her with sincerity, “I had no idea it was going to go this far. I was just trying to help, but then all of a sudden I was in space and I couldn’t turn back at that point, Mr. Stark needed me, but I swear I never meant to cause you so much trouble. I couldn’t not help out though, how am I supposed to be a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man when there’s no neighbourhood to protect?” His argument echoing that of the one he’d had with Tony when he stowed away on the ship in the first place. She broke from her stoic look of anger to laugh at Peter’s logic.

“Oh, Peter,” she sighed, pulling him in for another hug, this time accompanied with a lot of kisses on top of his head “What am I going to do with you kid?” 

“I ask myself that all the time May,” came Tony’s voice from behind him, having joined him in walking through the portal after his talk with Strange. 

May finally let go and Peter turned to face Tony with the biggest smile on his face, intent on asking him how his talk with Doctor Strange went, but was distracted by a strange huffing noise in the distance. Looking past Tony, who he realized has retracted his nano-tech armour, he saw something he hadn’t seen on his way in. There, eating a bush in their garden, was a brown alpaca. Not knowing if he was seeing things, he decided to voice his concern.

“Uh, Mr. Stark? Did you know there’s an alpaca in your backyard?” he asked, brows furrowed in confusion. He had never seen one in New York before, so the sudden appearance of the animal at Tony’s house of all places was really throwing him off. He figured the exhaustion was finally getting to him.

“That’s Gerald! He’s my friend!” a voice helpfully replied, but in a much more feminine tone than he was expecting. 

Looking down at the source in shock, his eyes met a pair of huge brown ones, full of excitement. Almost doing a double take, he stared wide-eyed at the little girl in front of him. 

“Mr. Stark, there’s a child in front of me!” 

His exclamation came out more panicked than he intended, but the last thing he expected to see, even more so than an alpaca, was a child. 

Tony chuckled at Peter’s reaction and moved to pick the little girl up. With the girl secured in his arms, he brushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear gently and said with a big smile, “Peter, meet my daughter, Morgan.” Peter’s brain seemed to stop working. _Daughter? Mr. Stark has a daughter?!_

His eyes started to well up, all of the emotions of the day seeming to hit him at once. 

“Oh my God! Mr. Stark, you have a kid! Congratulations Ms. Potts, she’s beautiful! I’m so happy for you two!” He was happy crying at this point, his body couldn’t handle any more emotion, even if it was good. 

“Thank you, Peter,” came Pepper’s soft voice from where she was standing to Tony’s right. 

Tony turned to her with what Peter could only describe as heart eyes, proceeding to set Morgan down so he could fully embrace Pepper for the first time since the battle had ended. Morgan, however, walked right up to Peter with a huge smile that stretched the limits of her tiny face. Peter crouched down so he was more on her level.

“Hi Morgan, my name’s Peter Parker.” He still couldn’t believe that he was speaking to Tony Stark’s actual daughter.

She giggled before responding. “I know, silly! My daddy tells me about you all the time.”

Peter didn’t know how to react. Not only did Tony have a daughter, but he told her about him all the time? He could practically feel his heart filling with adoration for all the people in his life. 

Tony swooped in and picked Morgan up off the ground, placing her on his hip and tickling her, causing her to laugh uncontrollably. “Are you spilling all my secrets, Little Miss?” he said lovingly, clearly not upset with her. 

“Maybe!” she choked out in between giggles. 

“Well. How. About. No. Juice. Pops. Tonight?” he teased, punctuating each word with a kiss on the top of her head. 

“No!” she squealed, unleashing a peal of laughter. “I won’t tell anymore secrets, I promise!”

“Alright, I believe you,” he gave in easily. “Juice Pops all around!” 

“Yay! Juice Pops!” 

Peter was frozen in shock at the scene he just witnessed. Tony was such a caring father, the love for Morgan practically pouring out of him. It was shocking, but beautiful to witness. This was Peter’s first real encounter with the other side of Tony Stark and he was grateful he got to be witness to it.

“All right Maguna,” Tony said as her laughter finally died down. “Why don’t you and mommy start getting dinner ready while me and Peter clean up? Does that sound good to you?”

“Yeah!” she agreed easily, and Tony passed her into Pepper’s arms. Pepper turned and walked towards the house, ready to make dinner as she had already cleaned up after her return from battle.

With them leaving to go cook inside, Tony was left to address Peter, Happy and May. He spoke to Happy first. 

“Thanks for all your help Happy, I couldn’t have done it without you. Now get out of here, I know your family’s waiting up for you.” 

Happy brought Tony in for a quick hug. “It was my pleasure, you know I’m always willing to help.” Clapping Tony on the back, he made his way over to where his car was parked in the driveway and left to get home to his own family. Tony then addressed Peter and May.

“So, I’m not quite sure what happened with your apartment, but you guys are more than welcome to stay with me until you can find a place of your own to live.” 

“Are you sure?” his Aunt May asked. “I wouldn’t want to impose.” 

Tony smirked. “I just fought an angry alien tyrant who was trying to acquire a glove with six magic stones, half the planet having just literally snapped back to life. I don’t think usual etiquette applies anymore.” 

Peter couldn’t help but laugh. When you thought about the absurdity of what had just happened and the mundane question that May had just asked, it did sound crazy. 

“Of course, right, well then, I guess I will accept your kind offer, Mr. Stark.” 

That was enough for Tony, though he couldn’t resist cheekily correcting her formality, “It's Tony.” 

He then put his arm around Peter and guided him to the house, May trailing a little ways behind them.

Walking up the stairs onto the porch, a weird feeling came over him, one that made his skin crawl and was only ever associated with lurking danger from his Spider-Sense. Alarmed, Peter quickly glanced behind him only to see May’s face, eyes narrowed in annoyance, before she quickly flashed him a strained smile when she noticed he was looking. Turning away to watch where he was going, Peter realized that May was annoyed with the way Tony had grabbed Peter from her and walked off. He now understood that the feeling he had sensed was jealousy and anger, the emotions practically radiating off of her, and his sixth sense had misinterpreted it as danger. Her anger didn’t phase him, however, as he knew how possessive she had become of him since Uncle Ben had died. She was scared to lose him too, something he hadn’t questioned up to this point, and now that there was another male figure taking up his time he could understand why she would react this way. The one thing that did surprise him about the situation was the fact that Tony didn’t have two eye-sized holes burned in the back of his head from the power of her glare by the time they made it to the house. 

Walking through the doors, Peter was suddenly hit with the delicious smell of the dinner that Pepper and Morgan were making, instantly making his stomach growl. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until this moment. 

Tony continued to gently pull him along. “So we have three bedrooms upstairs, mine and Pep’s, Morgan’s and the guest room. May you can stay in the guest room and, Peter, since I don’t think you want to share a room with your aunt, you can sleep on the pullout couch down here.” 

“Sounds good Mr. Stark,” he agreed easily. Honestly, a pull out couch sounded like heaven to him at the moment. 

“We also have two bathrooms with showers upstairs,” he explained. “May, you use our bathroom in our master suite and Peter you can share Morgan’s bathroom. There’s clean towels in the closet in the hallway, and you’re welcome to use any shampoo and soap that’s in the shower. I’ll have Pepper bring you some of her clothes to wear May and Pete I’ll bring you some of my old things for you. I’ll drop them outside the bathroom doors so you can get them when you’re ready.” 

“Wow, thank you so much Mr. Stark,” Peter replied, truly amazed at how welcoming Tony was. Dare he say it, but it really felt like they were part of the family and they had only been inside for three minutes. 

Sparing a glance at Aunt May, told a different story. He could practically feel the cold emanating off of her body as she held herself stiffly, like she was trying to stop herself from lunging at Tony as he talked. She wasn’t purposefully trying to show spite, Peter knew that, but he also knew that Tony was never one to be in her good books. Ever since she had stumbled upon his secret superhero life, discovering that he had gone to Germany right under her nose and fought alongside much older super-beings, she had blamed Tony. To her he would still be safe, still be a normal kid, if Tony hadn’t come into his life. While Peter knew this wasn’t true, it was hard to convince May of anything once her mind was set. 

Not noticing anything was amiss, Tony continued. “No problem kid, now you two go clean up and I’ll follow suit after you. Then we can all have dinner because I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!” 

The normal exclamation wouldn’t have caused a second thought usually, but tonight after everything they had gone through Peter could see the mask that Tony had put on. He was trying to make everything seem normal for Morgan, not wanting her to realize anything as tragic as losing Steve and fighting a whole alien race had just occurred. Peter knew she was smart enough to know that they had to fight bad guys, but at her age she wouldn’t understand what had actually happened to Earth, what it had cost them to win the war against Thanos, and it was clear that Tony never wanted her to know. At least, not at this age. He was doing his best to put on his “everything’s okay” mask and Peter had to commend his efforts. He had just lost Steve, one of his closest friends on the Avenger’s team, and he knew how it must have hurt him to see that happen right before his eyes. Peter himself was still a little queasy just thinking about it. 

Tony nodded once in silent confirmation to himself on the statement and then left them alone to join Pepper in the kitchen while they made their way upstairs to clean up. Peter’s brain was still whirring, trying to fully grasp on to what had happened over the last several hours. It all seemed too much to process, so he decided to push it from his mind and focus on his task at hand: get clean. Finding everything where Tony had said it would be, he made his way to Morgan’s bathroom and turned the shower on high, letting it heat up as hot as it could go. He tested the water on his palm, feeling goosebumps prick at his skin as the first drops of the ice cold spray hit his hand. Stepping back to let the water have the chance to heat up, the room slowly began filling with steam. 

Stepping into the now hot shower, he stood under the shower head for a solid minute, attempting to let it warm the deep cold inside him, allowing the soothing stream of water to loosen his battle tightened muscles. Moving to lean his arms against the wall, he continued to let the water pour over his head and down his back, hoping that if he stood there long enough the memories of the day would wash away with the dirt coating his skin. As he watched the particles rush down the drain, he breathed a sigh of relief that this would be the last he would ever see of the war-torn hellscape. Despite the world having changed into a much more complicated place, this statement becoming even more true in his past 24 hours, Peter at least knew one thing was for certain: He was never going back. 


	14. Now This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, there are some descriptions of PTSD in the beginning of this chapter

_He was back. Mind reeling, he tried to understand how this was possible. Steve snapped! He shouldn't be back here! They had won!_

_Desperately looking around, he realized, however, that the whole scene was wrong. There were no yells of the heroes fighting, no screams from the aliens, no anything. He was completely alone, standing in the middle of the battlefield. The eerie quiet and how the faint yellow light seemed to glow as it bounced off each particle of dust hanging in the air made the scene almost more unnerving, so unnatural against the chaos he had known from the fight._

_Not knowing what to do, he spun around searching for anything to help him escape when he felt it. A sudden pressure on his chest that began to bloom, growing heavier every second. It was at this moment that he realized he was no longer standing up, but instead pressed into the dirt, lying on his back. What the hell was going on? Trying to move, Peter found that he couldn't. He was being pinned down, and the feeling that rose up in him sent his heart racing. He was trapped with no escape. Writhing, he did everything he could to get out of there when the ground began to shake. A growing roar of footsteps was approaching him and, looking down, the gauntlet had magically appeared in his arms. His worst fear had been confirmed: he knew what was about to happen._ **_Oh god, please no,_ ** _he thought frantically._ **_I’m about to be buried alive. The aliens! The aliens are going to kill me!_ **

_His body started shutting down, his breathing so fast that he could barely keep track as his limbs went numb and his consciousness started to wain. It was at that moment that the hoard rushed over him, burying him beneath their slimy bodies as they aimed to rip the gauntlet from where he had it clutched to his chest. Through his shuddering breaths, he could just make out_ _the faint voice of KAREN in his ear telling him to calm down. She might as well have been talking to deaf ears though as he wasn’t paying any attention to her desperate pleas to get him to focus. The hoard had come out of nowhere with no time to react. He only had one thought on his mind:_ ** _oh god, this is how I’m going to die._**

_His first instinct was to try pushing back, putting all his strength into wrenching the aliens off of him like he had done with that building the Vulture dropped on his head, but they just pushed back harder and continued crushing him under their combined weight. It was hopeless. All he could do was clutch the gauntlet in his hands and curl into a ball, calling out for help._

_“Help!” he screamed, “Tony, help me, please!”_

_But as was the reality before, the same was true here. Tony couldn’t hear his screams: He wasn’t coming to save him._

_He curled further into himself to try and protect the gauntlet, but also his body from the aliens viciously clawing at every inch of him. His Iron Spider suit was the only thing keeping him from being ripped to absolute shreds._

_Suddenly the aliens started fighting harder, as if sensing something, and the clawing began to get more desperate. The loud clanging of nails on metal and their high pitched voices rang in his ears as they tried to get through the suit. He couldn’t hear anything else anymore, not even his own heart that he knew was hammering in his chest. He felt like he was going insane, the ringing rising in a crescendo where he knew his head would surely explode from the noise when it reached his peak. He didn’t even realize he was screaming until he felt the burning pain coming from his throat from the force of his yells. Just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, he heard a voice._

_“Pete! Peter, wake up! Come on Peter don’t do this to me!”_

_Tony._

His eyes snapped open and he shot up, immediately being greeted with Tony’s scared face kneeling right next to him on the couch. 

“Woah, woah, woah, take it easy kid,” Tony immediately soothed as Peter suddenly jerked up from where he was laying on the pull-out, his hands firmly resting on Peter’s shoulders.

Tony’s touch grounded him, made his body start to calm down a little. Blinking, he looked around confused, his brain still trying to process the dream his subconscious had thrown him into.

“You with me now Peter?” Tony asked gently. Peter’s spider-sense picked up on what felt like shock waves of fear radiating from him, but the lines that creased his forehead as he regarded him closely told Peter that he was only feeling the deepest of concern. 

Swallowing hard, he ran his noticeably shaky hands over his face, feeling the cold sweat that was covering his face as he did so. The dream had been so real, like he was back in that moment of being trampled alive by Thanos’ army. 

He shakily nodded his head yes, not trusting himself to speak as his emotions were still on high alert from what he had just re-lived. 

“God, kid you’re shaking like a leaf.” He hadn’t noticed it until Tony had pointed it out, but now he could feel it, his muscles spazzing rhythmically with each shudder of his body. Whether it was from fear or the fact that his clothes were cold and damp against his skin he didn’t know. All he could see in his mind was the hoard of aliens swallowing him, his ears ringing as they screamed and clawed and thrashed against his suit. He could feel his emotions well up inside, the fear that hadn’t been released during the fight coming out for the first time in twenty four hours. 

He didn’t even try to stop it from happening as his body started racking with sobs, his hands flying to his face as he let the pain from yesterday’s battle finally come out. Arms suddenly wrapped themselves tightly around his body, desperate words whispering in his ears.

“Shhh, Pete it's okay, you’re alright. Nothing’s going to hurt you here, I’ve got you,” they repeated over and over. 

“They were everywhere, so many and they were all trying to get me. I tried to get out, I did, but they just kept moving and pushing down. It was like a hundred buildings on top of me.” The words stumbled out between bursts of sobbing and he wasn’t sure if they were spoken or all in his racing mind. Tony seemed to hear them though and loosened his harsh grip ever so slightly, the frantic note in his voice dying down to a calmer pitch.

“I know kid, I know and I’m sorry. But hey, it's okay, you’re here with me now and more importantly, you’re _safe_.”

Letting his emotions ride out, they finally died down after a few minutes until he was left sniffling, but feeling a lot better about everything. Tony continued to rub his back until Peter’s breathing finally evened out and he calmed down. Pulling himself back from Peter gently, Tony kept one hand on his left shoulder and watched him with sad, but understanding eyes. 

“You alright now?” he asked, not wanting Peter to get upset again. Laughing humourlessly, embarrassed at the breakdown he had just had, he wiped at his eyes to clear the last remaining tears from his vision. Taking a deep breath he responded, ensuring Tony that he was at least lucid now.

“I’m okay,” he rasped, his throat felt raw, like he had gargled glass shards. 

Wincing, he absentmindedly began to rub his throat to try and soothe the pain talking had caused. He hadn’t noticed it in the midst of his breakdown, but now that he was calming down the pain was making itself known.

Tony shakily sighed and sat back, clearly unsettled at what had just happened. He ran his hands through his hair to clear the stress before cluing Peter in to all that had just taken place.

“You scared the shit out of me Pete. I was drinking my coffee and reading the news when Morgan suddenly came up to me and asked if she could wake you up. You were basically buried under the blankets, so she crawled up on top of you and sat on your chest. She was about to pull the blankets back when you _freaked._ You started thrashing and screaming, throwing Morgan off you in the process. Pepper and I both ran over, she took Morgan and I raced over to you to figure out what was going on.” 

Tony paused the story there to take a calming breath and Peter glanced over to see that Pepper was comforting a sobbing Morgan in her arms, bouncing her gently to get her to calm down. _Did I hurt her?_ he thought guiltily, feeling terrible for throwing her off of him. As if reading his mind, Tony answered his unspoken question with a gentle, but sad smile. 

“She’s alright, you just scared her when you threw her off the bed. She had no idea what happened.” 

His smile suddenly dropped, a haunting look coming over him. 

“Neither did I for that matter. When I ran over I ripped the blanket off of you and you were just spazzing. I thought you were having a seizure or something, but then you just started screaming, over and over again. ‘Tony help me please’ without stopping.” 

He grew quiet and looked extremely sad as he admitted this, like it was his fault this had happened to Peter.

Snapping himself out of it, he finished his story. “My yelling must have gotten through because all of a sudden you shot up and, well, you know what happened from there.” 

Peter sucked in a deep breath as he traced the chain of events: Morgan’s weight on his chest had triggered the dream. His exhausted brain had taken the touch and turned it into memory, bringing him back to the traumatizing event that had taken place the day before.

Releasing the air slowly, everything seemed to settle a bit more. Now understanding his own perspective a bit more, a pit formed in his stomach as he thought of how his behaviour had affected the Starks. They were probably having a wonderful morning until he messed it up with his silly episode.

“I’m really sorry Mr. Stark, Miss Potts. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I can’t believe I threw Morgan off the bed, she must hate me now,” he admitted dejectedly, figuring that any trust she’d had in him was surely gone. 

Tony grabbed onto Peter’s knee firmly, bringing his whole attention to him. “Listen Peter, I don’t ever want you to be sorry for what happened. We just went through hell and back and I will always be here if you need to talk, okay? Promise me that you won’t keep things bottled up. I know that route all too well and I don’t want you going that way too. Anytime you’re feeling overwhelmed, sad, stressed, whatever the case may be, I want you to come to me. No matter the time, alright kid?” Peter could see how much this mattered to Tony, how concerned he was for Peter’s well-being. 

“Exactly as Tony said. You have nothing to apologize for, Peter. I’ve seen what battle can do to people twice your age up close,” Pepper added, coming up behind Tony and sliding a hand around his shoulders as she talked, the other still cradling Morgan to her hip.

“Alright, I promise,” he said quietly, the floor suddenly becoming a lot more interesting as he tried to avoid Tony’s stare.

Of course this didn’t work though, Tony’s grip only becoming tighter on his knee. “‘I promise’ what?” 

Using a considerable amount of effort, Peter pried his eyes off of the auburn planks on the ground as he brought them up to meet Tony’s. “I promise I’ll come and find you.”

He spoke with a sincere voice, the uncertainty still not completely gone but now much less apparent. Tony must have picked up on this shift of attitude as he gave Peter's leg a small pat, his face softening. “Glad to hear it.”

The hint of a smile crossed Peter’s face as he looked at him. It brought him comfort, knowing that they would always be there to help, especially knowing that Tony could understand what he was going through in ways that his aunt May never could. The pains of battle being something only a select few truly knew. 

Trusting that Peter was being truthful, Tony tried to lighten the mood. 

“As for Morgan here, I don’t think she hates you. Right Little Miss?” he asked lightheartedly to Morgan, who had stopped crying but was still in Pepper’s arms. 

Taking the hint, Pepper lowered Morgan down to where Tony and Peter were sitting on the pullout couch, placing her on Peter’s legs so she was facing him. Looking at her tear stained face, splotchy from her crying episode (as Peter knew his face was probably too) he couldn’t help but feel disheartened that he had caused her pain. His heightened senses, however, weren’t picking up anger or fear from the girl. His heart clenched as instead he saw confusion and love in her eyes. 

“Are you okay Peter?” she asked, thoroughly concerned that he wasn’t alright. 

“I’m okay Morgan. Sorry for throwing you, that was so uncool of me,” he apologized wholeheartedly. 

“That’s okay. Accidents happen!” she exclaimed with a smile, happy now that she knew Peter was alright. Peter’s heart melted at her instant forgiveness. _This kid._

Peter opened his arms and she instantly flopped into them giving him a big bear hug. He saw Tony give him a knowing look, a smirk on his lips at Peter and Morgan’s interaction. 

“Hey Maguna, how about we help cheer Peter up? I know a nice breakfast with good company always does that for me. What do you say we go help mommy finish up so we can all eat together?”

Giving Peter once last squeeze, she let go and turned to face her dad. 

“Yeah! Let’s make Peter the best breakfast ever!” she exclaimed excitedly, jumping off the bed to join Pepper who had already resumed making the food. Tony reached out to grip Peter’s shoulder again, his eyes warm and sympathetic. 

“Why don’t you go take a nice hot shower and unwind before that? We’ll get breakfast ready so it’ll be done by the time you get out.”

“Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks Mr. Stark,” he agreed, ready to scrub the sweat off of his body as well as the lingering memories of the event from his mind. 

He watched as Tony nodded and got up to join the girls in the kitchen. Getting up too, he made his way upstairs to take the much needed shower. Although reliving that moment from yesterday’s battle had been terrifying, he felt somewhat light after all the emotions he had just released. If this was any other day he would have been embarrassed for literally crying in Tony’s arms, but right now he felt like it had been good, a kind of cathartic experience he needed to help ease the pain he had been feeling since they had battled with Thanos. It made him realize how lucky he was to have this support after such a big event, people he could talk to about how he was feeling. For once, he didn't have to deal with the pain alone. 

Reaching the bathroom, he realized that he had never taken the time to fully appreciate the space on his first trip in. His focus had been more on the white tiles beneath his feet, but his eyes now lifted up to scan the small but cozy space. It was clearly a room built for a kid to grow up in, a bit large for Morgan at four and a half but the perfect size for his teenage body. The choice of colour which had been brushed across the wood boards was odd to him though. From the paint catalogues May had left in their bathroom at home - no, sorry, _old_ home - he had thought that all young girls would want a pink or yellow bathroom. This one, however, was a shade of teal blue. A lot like his favourite sweater. Morgan had said that Tony told her stories about him, had he also shown her pictures? _Did they choose this colour because of me?_

The thought sent a warm, fuzzy feeling from his head down two his toes, and he began to realize how much he appreciated Tony in his life. One more reason why he was grateful that Steve had snapped instead. As if in a prayer, he looked up to the ceiling above and closed his eyes, a contented sigh relaxing his body. 

_Thank you for helping Tony come home to his family. Come back to me._

\--

Fully refreshed, both body and mind, from the shower, Peter made his way downstairs to join everyone for breakfast. The shower had really helped him calm down and he was feeling a lot stronger than before. Allowing his brain time to wake up, it was now easier to tell that it had been a dream, as in the moment he had gotten caught up in all of the emotions that had come with the flashback to yesterday's battle. While he knew that he definitely wasn’t okay with everything that had happened yet, and would probably struggle with it for a while, he knew he had a lot of support from the ones closest to him and for that he was grateful. Ready to put the incident behind him for now though, he walked down the last few stairs and turned to head toward the table where he saw Tony sitting with Morgan. She was currently very invested in eating some toast, more jam going on her face than in her mouth. 

“Are you enjoying that?” he asked kindly as he sat down next to her.

“Yup!” she replied happily, taking another big bite of her toast and smearing herself with more strawberry jam in the process.

“Hey, Miss Maguna, are you eating that toast or wearing it?” Tony teased as he saw the sugary substance spread across her face.

“I’m eating it daddy! You can’t even wear toast! I thought you were a genius? ” She asked seriously, thinking that Tony had actually been asking her a legitimate question. His eyes crinkled as he smiled, shaking his head at his daughter’s logic. 

“Right you are Little Miss, and don’t you ever forget it!” he responded playfully. 

“Breakfast!” Pepper called as she appeared from the kitchen, placing four plates on the table, all generously piled with either bacon, eggs, toast, and hash browns. After unloading the armfuls of food she went back to the counter and quickly returned with a dish of butter, a jug of orange juice and a jar of strawberry jam that must have been half Morgan’s height on the table. The appearance of jam immediately made Morgan squeal in delight, her short arms reaching up towards the inhumanly large jar, and all at once Peter understood it’s reason for existing. 

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough for the day, Maguna?” Tony questioned, raising an eyebrow at her excitement.

“No! My jam belly isn’t full yet!” she replied adamantly, crossing her arms and scowling. 

Peter hit her with a quizzical look, then leaned over towards Tony, who was sitting opposite him at the table. “Does she really believe that she has a separate belly just for jam?” he whispered, concerned as to where she got her biology facts from.

“Yep, but as long as she believes that there’s a ‘veggie belly’ too we’re golden,” Tony whispered back, smirking at his own trick.

Shaking his head, Tony put on a look of resignation as he reached for another slice of toast and stuck his knife in the jar to coat the blade. Pulling it out with a large blob of sticky strawberry goodness on the end, he sat back and took his time coating the toast, his forced annoyance sending her into a series of giggles that filled the room. Tony couldn’t help but break his act to chuckle along with her and even Peter cracked a smile at how goofy the scene was until his stomach growled to get his attention. _Right, food._

It all smelled incredible and he couldn’t wait to dig in. He was about to serve himself a big portion, his hand poised to attack the heap of bacon, when he realized that his Aunt May hadn’t joined them. Worried that she was still upset about last night, he thought it couldn’t hurt to check if Tony knew anything about it.

“Mr. Stark?” he asked. 

“Mhmm?” Tony replied, his attention focused on dipping his toast into his eggs.

“Where’s my Aunt May?” 

“Oh right, she told me to tell you that she’ll be back later today. She took one of my cars to try and figure out what’s going on at your apartment so you guys can find a place to live.”

Right. Peter had forgotten that the world had been thrown into chaos when everyone had been snapped back. _I guess all of that kind of overshadows my_ _current situation._

“Oh, okay, that makes sense.” Breathing out a sigh of relief, he resumed filling his plate with food. 

With his plate full, he stabbed at his eggs and brought a forkful to his mouth, casually glancing out the window to his right as he did so. Staring out at the world as he chewed, a random thought entered his brain. _Did he even know the date?_ Looking outside now he could see that the leaves were all starting to turn brown and fall to the ground, but he knew for a fact that it had been spring when they had started their battle with Thanos the first time. All Doctor Strange had said was that five years had passed, so he had no idea what month they were actually, let alone the day. Focusing back on the table, he decided to voice the thought out loud.

“Wait a minute, do you know what the date is?” 

Tony looked up and then wiped his mouth before answering, a strained smile on his face. “I guess that would be confusing for you, kid,” he started sadly, “As you know, it was May 2nd, 2018 when Thanos snapped everyone away the first time. But unlike the second it was for you, it was a long five years for us, and a very dark time for humanity at that. We had no idea what to do and with half of all life suddenly gone it took awhile for Earth to regroup. The world had only just begun to heal when I got a sudden visit from Steve in early October, just two weeks ago, with his obscene plan to bring everyone back. Well, as you can tell, it worked and now here we are. October 19th, 2023.”

“Ah man, I missed summer!” he blurted out glumly, as it was honestly the first thing to come to his mind. It was his favourite season and him and Ned had made plans to go to Coney Island that year. _Ned!_ He had totally forgotten about him! The last time he had seen him was on the bus when the aliens had first attacked. A wave of sadness swept over him with the realization. _What if he hadn’t been snapped away too? What if he was five years older now? What if he had moved on?_ The questions pinging in his mind threatened to send him in a sad spiral for his best friend, when he was distracted by a sudden strange noise from Tony. 

Glancing over at the man sitting across from him, he could see that his whole body was shaking. Concerned, he was about to ask if he was all right when he realized that he was _laughing._ And really hard at that. He was at the point where he couldn’t even make any noise, his shoulders just bobbing up and down with each laugh. It took him a few moments, but he finally composed himself enough to where he was still chuckling, but calmer than before. He wiped his eyes and sighed, laughter still escaping his mouth in manic bursts.

“Peter, buddy, I tell you all that, you just realize you have been snapped back to a different month, let alone the fact that five _years_ have passed, and you’re upset that you missed _summer?_ ” he asked incredulously, a goofy grin on his face. 

“Uh, yes?” he responded shyly, a small grin appearing on his face. 

“God, I missed you kid. More than you could ever know,” Tony chuckled again before continuing to eat his breakfast. Peter smiled softly too, he could see how that had been a ridiculous statement, but he was glad that it brought some light to the sad topic.

Breakfast went as normal after that, all stuffing themselves on the delicious meal that Pepper had made. They had just finished clearing the table and wiping everything down when Tony made an announcement. 

“Okay everyone,” he addressed the three of them, clapping his hands together in that stereotypical dad fashion whenever they addressed their family. _Is that how he sees me?_

“I know that you need some new clothes Pete, and we’re going to need some groceries if we’re going to feed thirty three mouths on the 22nd, so I decided that we’re going to take a little trip into the city.” 

“The city!” came Morgan’s excited response. “Can we go to Krispy Kreme?” 

“If you’re good and we get all of our chores done, I’ll take you to Krispy Kreme. Does that sound fair?” he compromised. 

“Yup!” she agreed and ran to get her shoes and coat on. 

“What about you hon?” he asked, turning to address Pepper. 

“You go with the kids, I have some gardening that I wanted to get done. Those Goji berries won’t tend themselves.” 

“Alright, I guess I’ll see you later.” She walked over and kissed him before turning to Peter.

“Bye Peter, have fun.”

“I will. Thank you for the lovely breakfast!” 

She smiled. “It was my pleasure,” and then walked out the back door leaving Tony and Peter alone in the kitchen. 

“So kid, you can’t go out in what you’re currently wearing,” Peter glanced down at the too big shirt and sweats he had borrowed from Tony last night. 

“But,” Tony continued, “I found an old pair of clothes you left at the Avenger’s compound on one of your visits. I meant to give them back, but I always forgot to take them with me when I’d come to see you.” 

He reached over to where he had placed the clothes on his couch and handed them to Peter. Sure enough there was his old pair of faded jeans and his white t-shirt that had “I make terrible science puns, but only periodically” printed in blue across the front, accompanied by the element of ‘Punnium’. The ones he had long since thought he’d lost.

“Wow, I never thought I’d see these again! Thanks Mr. Stark.”

“No problem, kid. Now change into those and meet me in the car, I’m going to go get Morgan in her carseat. I swear they’re the hardest things to work these days, and that’s coming from a genius!” Tony joked, getting one more laugh out of Peter before he left him alone to change. 

As he walked to the ground floor bathroom, he thought back to the day he had left the clothes at the compound. When school had let out that afternoon he had walked out thinking he was going home like normal, but was instead met with Happy waiting outside. When he had approached him, Happy told him that Tony wanted him at the Avenger’s compound and that he was supposed to bring his suit. Well, he never left the house without it, so he simply got in the car with Happy to make their way to upper New York. When they arrived and met up with Tony he told him, to his delight, that he was going to make some upgrades to his suit. They had taken their time comparing notes on ways to modify Karen and then removing some stuff that he didn’t need (like a lot of the web choices as Tony had observed that Peter preferred a select few). When he had finished he told Peter to try it out to make sure everything worked, causing him to leave his clothes in the room Tony still kept for him there, as he had worn his suit downtown to test it’s abilities, catching a ride home with Tony straight after they had finished.

A soft smile on his face as the memory surfaced in his mind, he finished pulling the shirt over his head and left the bathroom. He went so quickly that he hadn’t even given a second thought to the old shirt and sweatpants still lying on the floor. If this trip was going to be anything like the others he had taken with Tony, he didn’t want to wait another second.


	15. Powdered Strawberry and the Prodigal Son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take all the scientific terms with a grain of salt. I am not a scientist nor do I dabble in Quantum physics, so I had to do my best putting something together for Peter lmao

Though it wasn't turning out to be the same exhilarating experience as his surprise tech workshops with Tony, it was a different kind of exciting to see himself standing beside him as they debated what sweater went with which pair of jeans, rips or no rips, or if the neon yellow high-tops were “a touch too bright and might blind someone”. 

It was nearing one o’clock by the time they had finished clothes shopping for Peter. Aunt May had said she was going to pick up some clothes for herself while she was out, so Tony only needed to focus on buying stuff for him. After they had finished clothes shopping, they had gotten all the groceries they needed for the memorial dinner on Sunday. Tony had told Peter the whole plan for the Avenger’s gathering and he was happy that everyone was coming together to honour the heroes they had lost to Thanos. Going through the store and putting everything they needed in their multiple shopping carts, Peter had never seen so much food being bought at once. Having to feed thirty three people definitely added up and they had racked up three carts of food by the time they had gotten everything on the list Pepper had sent them with, Peter pushing two of them with Morgan squeezed into one of the seats which she was quickly outgrowing. Once everything had been checked out and bagged his eyes popped as their total had come to a whopping $1289.67, a lot of the total coming from the expensive wine Tony had insisted they buy. It was more money than Peter had ever spent on anything ever in one single trip. Tony hadn’t seemed fazed at all by this, used to spending much more on things, and had simply inserted his card to pay. 

Once they had loaded everything into the car and gotten buckled up, Morgan began wriggling in her seat as if trying to fight the belt that was holding her in place, before blurting out her wish from earlier.

“Do we get donuts now?!”

Tony paused. “Hmmh,” he pretended to think for a moment. “Well Maguna, you were good, so I think you deserve a treat for that. What do you think Pete?” he asked, eyes quickly flicking to where Peter was sitting next to Morgan in the back seat. Seeing Tony’s wry expression, he quickly wiped the goofy smile that was resting on his face and tried to play it off. Whatever he did, he would _not_ embarrass himself in front of Tony Stark over something as silly as donuts.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” he replied, his voice cracking as he tried to lower it ever so slightly.

Chuckling, Tony gave him a knowing nod before turning back around and punching Krispy Kreme into the GPS. 

Morgan gasped, clapping her hands and chanting, “Doughnuts! Doughnuts! Doughnuts!” over and over, excitement at an all time high over the sweet treats. Peter rolled his eyes, before mouthing along with her. 

They made their way through the barren streets of New York, people unsurprisingly choosing to stay home as their loved ones had popped so suddenly back into their lives. This made the trip quick, however, and Tony easily found a spot to park on the street. Backing in, he turned the car off and faced them, a huge grin on his face.

“You kids ready for doughnuts?”

“Yeah!” Morgan yelled, and Peter was surprised as he found himself yelling too. He probably should have cared that he just blew the act he was trying to put on, but he didn’t. He didn’t mind if he was acting childish anymore, they were _donuts!_ Who didn’t love donuts? 

Tony got out of the car and walked around to Morgan's side of the car, where he unbuckled her from her car seat and lifted her to the ground, his hand immediately finding hers. Peter followed suit, closing his door behind him and observing as Tony squeezed onto her fingers in a death-grip, seemingly terrified of her running off into the street despite the complete absence of cars. He couldn’t help but chuckle at his protectiveness; it was an all too familiar sight, one that he himself had gone through with May as she had hauled him across the crowded New York streets as a kid, and it was a habit that she sometimes still tried to inflict upon him, a fully grown sixteen year old. Watching Tony do the same in front of him now and seeing Morgan’s face scrunch into one of defiance, he had to stop himself from teasing the man as they made their way to the storefront.

Walking inside the store, they were hit with the scent of freshly baked doughnuts and sticky glaze. It was heaven to Peter, his senses floating on a cloud of sugary goodness. His eyes roamed over the endless shelves of fresh doughnuts; glazed, chocolate, maple, Boston cream, pink with sprinkles, chocolate dipped ones, and more. So many more. Any kind of donut you wanted was there, tempting you to buy them all. It was enough to make Peter grin at the display case in front of him. 

“Should I buy a dozen glazed so we can take some home to mommy?” Tony asked Morgan as they stood at the counter, waiting for a clerk to return to the register.

“Can I have a powdered strawberry doughnut?” she asked sweetly, looking up at him with her huge eyes. 

“You know, this really isn’t helping your strawberry addiction at all,” Tony chuckled at her, but he couldn’t refuse as she hit him with a sad pout. “Alright, I’ll get some just for you. Now, why don’t you and Peter go over there and get some hats for all of us while I put in our order?” 

Morgan nodded, happy now that she knew she was getting the donuts she wanted, and walked over to Peter where he immediately grabbed her outstretched hand. He gently pulled her along to the stand which displayed the classic Krispy Kreme hat, the boat-shaped cap boasting a curved green stripe and the words “eat” and “doughnuts” framing the red logo. He picked one up and opened it, bending down to place it on her head as her big eyes shone back at him with adoration, then picked one up for himself. He was about to place it on his own head when he remembered the vine of the guy flipping in a Krispy Kreme, holding the very same hat. An idea suddenly formed in his head. _I can flip too!_ He could show Morgan his acrobatic skills while recreating the vine, because why not? There was no sign on the wall for him to knock down and it would be fun to mimic the iconic vine. He stepped back from Morgan, making sure he was at a safe distance so he wouldn’t hit her. 

“Watch this Morgan!” he exclaimed and held out his left arm like he was filming himself, while holding the hat to his chest for the fake camera to see as well. He noticed Morgan watching him with full interest, wondering what he was about to do.

“Back at it again at Krispy Kreme!” Trying to sound like the guy in the vine as much as possible, he wasn’t sure he quite hit the mark. He was having fun, though, and Morgan was eagerly watching to see what was going to happen next, so he continued setting the scene. 

Peter began to position himself for his flip, intending to land on his feet like always. He had done flips like this hundreds of times before, so it was essentially muscle memory to him at that point. 

Crouching low, he sprang up quickly launching himself in the air, where he was about to tuck his legs in to complete the flip, when his mind suddenly reeled in warning. Mental signs sprung up everywhere, flashing for him to _LOOK OUT!!_

With such a short warning he had little to no time to look for the source, instead being blinded in pain as his head made contact with something hard. Throwing his flip off balance, he crashed to the floor in an ungraceful heap, straight on his ass, adding a throbbing tailbone to his list of injuries. Sitting on the ground he tucked his head into his chest, arms covering his face as he clutched the back of his skull, keeping his eyes shut tightly as they were watering from the impact. Feeling blindly with his fingers, he finally found the giant goose egg already rising on his skull and covered it protectively, maintaining the childlike instinct to clutch onto the things that hurt, trying to make the pain go away. 

His failed flip must have made a loud noise as seconds later he heard frantic footsteps as Tony rushed over, the sound of the doughnut box being placed on the floor as he felt Tony’s presence kneeling in front of him.

“Pete! My god, are you okay? What happened to you? Did you hit your head?” he asked in a frenzy, clearly confused as to how Peter had managed to hurt himself in a doughnut shop. Peter didn’t move from his hunched position, his hands still firmly grasping his throbbing head. 

“Yeah,” he groaned, not even bothering to look up at Tony. “I hit the back.”

“Here, let me see,” he replied softly, gently moving Peter’s hands from his protective hold on his head. Having a clear view, Tony began examining the bump with a tenderness that Peter didn’t even know he was capable of. _Must be from experience dealing with Morgan when she gets hurt._ The touch, although gentle, still didn’t stop Peter from recoiling with a hiss of pain as Tony’s fingers accidentally made contact with the newly sore spot. 

“Sorry kid, just have to make sure you didn’t do any real damage,” he apologized when he felt Peter jump at his touch. After probing his head for a bit longer, Tony must have decided that he was fine because he suddenly removed his hand and narrowed his eyes at him, the tenderness of the moment taking a backseat as annoyance took over.

“Jeez Peter, what were you trying to accomplish? We just got out of a giant alien battle and you’re already giving yourself a concussion!” he scolded lightly, flabbergasted at the situation.

“I know, I know, sorry sir. I was just trying to make Morgan laugh,” he defended weakly as he finally lifted his head up. 

Looking around for the first time since he had attempted to recreate the vine, he could see that Morgan was standing a few feet back, trying to stifle her giggles behind her hands, clearly amused with what she had just witnessed. _Well, at least my plan still worked._

Tony sighed, leaning back to sit on his heels. “You’re not bleeding and I don’t actually believe you have a concussion, so I think you’ll live.” 

Standing up from his position on the floor he reached his arm down to help Peter to his feet. Wincing at the movement thanks to his aching tailbone, he figured he had gotten off lucky. Other than the small rush of dizziness and the constant ache of his head, he figured his pride had been hurt more in the ordeal than anything else. He didn’t think anything could get worse until he realized he could hear giggling that wasn’t Morgan’s in the background. Turning to see who it was, colour rushed to his face as his gaze fell on two female cashiers, a blonde and a redhead, smiling at him with their hands over their mouths and shoulders shaking with repressed laughter. 

_Great, if that doesn’t just add more insult to injury_ he huffed to himself, glaring at the floor. 

Sure that Peter wasn’t going to keel over, Tony stood back up and walked over to the redhead to ask if he could have an ice pack. While waiting for Tony to come back, Peter glanced up to see what had almost cracked his skull open and felt his face go impossibly redder as he realized the stupid mistake he’d made. There was indeed a sign in the store, but unlike the one that the guy had knocked over in the vine, which he had been looking for, this one was mounted to the ceiling. Feeling embarrassed he glanced down at Morgan, who had stopped giggling but still had a smile on her face.

“Is your head okay?” Her big eyes shone with concern, but also amusement from the whole ordeal. 

“Yeah my head’s okay, thanks for asking, kiddo.” He ruffled her hair affectionately; she was a good kid.

Tony joined them once again and passed Peter the ice pack he had gotten from the cashier before reaching down and picking up the doughnuts he had abandoned on the floor. 

“Let’s get out of here before anything else crazy happens, okay kid?” he said as he secured the donuts in his hands.

Peter placed the ice pack on his head and felt immediate relief as the cold washed over the painful bump. He gladly followed Tony as he led the way out of the store, holding the door for Morgan before exiting himself. “Yeah, I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“I’ll say. I don’t know how I’m going to survive if you keep getting yourself into trouble like this. An old man’s heart can only take so much.” 

Making sure the path was clear, they crossed the street together, Morgan’s hand once again secured in his own. Letting go once they’d crossed, he lifted the tailgate of the Audi SUV to place the doughnuts among their mountains of groceries and sealed their haul back up, then went around to buckle Morgan into her car seat. 

Peter found his way back into his own seat and buckled up before Tony was even finished, scowling at the seat as it refused to cooperate. Finally hearing the click of the buckle latching, Tony closed the car door a little too hard and walked around to get into the driver’s seat. Starting the car, he silently pulled back onto the road. It was strangely quiet for a few minutes, a tension seeming to build as the silence stretched on. Peter was beginning to wonder if it was not just about the fight with the carseat when Tony suddenly spoke up.

“We’re agreeing to not tell Aunt May about this, right? ‘Cause I don’t want to face her wrath when she finds out I let you get hurt in a freaking _doughnut shop_ of all places.”

 _So that’s it._ Peter let out a sigh, relieved that he wasn’t still upset with him. He was about to readily agree, not wanting to face Aunt May’s wrath either, when an idea suddenly came to him. This was a perfect opportunity to have the upper hand on Tony for once. Smirking mischievously, he set his plan into action. 

“I don’t know about that Mr. Stark, my head sure does hurt a lot,” he teased, throwing a grimace onto his face as he pressed the ice pack further into his head to play up the pain more. In reality, his healing ability was already taking care of the injury with it now only feeling like a bad bruise. He saw Tony’s eyes flash into the rearview mirror in panic, clearly believing that Peter had hurt his head worse than he initially thought, but his panic was soon replaced with annoyance as he saw his smug look.

“Wait a minute- you’re guilt tripping me aren’t you?” he accused, eyes flicking back to the road but narrowing in annoyance.

Peter just shrugged, not wanting to give up his facade. Tony let out a deep sigh and muttered “why am I always stuck with the smart ones?” to himself before he fell back into his seat and regarded Peter again.

“Okay kid, what do you want?” Peter froze. He hadn’t actually expected Tony to give in and so he hadn’t come up with something to get out of the exchange. Scrambling to find something, he blurted out the first thing that popped into his mind.

“You have to tell me how you built time travel.” 

Tony’s face briefly flashed with confusion, before he started to laugh. 

“That’s it?” he asked, unconvinced, not sure if Peter was joking about his wish.

“Yeah, that’s it.” He was in too deep now to back down from the confident answer he had given anyway. 

“You underestimate the power your Aunt has on me, kid. I would have given anything there to not have to tell her, but you asked for something I would have told you anyway if you just asked,” he chuckled, amused by Peter’s innocence. 

“Oh.” Now he felt even sillier for the request.

“Remind me to teach you how to negotiate later. It’ll make me feel better knowing you can actually talk your way out of situations.” He seemed to think for a moment before adding, “well actually you might be okay on your own. The amount of talking you do is enough to bore the bad guys to death.” 

Peter set his jaw firmly at that remark, only feeling worse as he saw the corner of Tony’s mouth quirk upward in a smirk. Deciding that he didn’t want to add anymore fuel to the fire, he instead crossed his arms and looked out the window in an attempt to protest. _Not sulking,_ he clarified to himself. 

In what Peter assumed was an effort to diffuse the situation, Tony just started talking. “Well, I didn’t actually think time travel was possible.” 

He looked over at Tony, deciding to forget his protest for the time being as he was genuinely curious to hear how he had made something as big as time traveling possible. 

“But one day Steve made that special home visit and tried to convince me otherwise, tried to convince me that we had a chance. To me though it all sounded too unsure, too risky, and it was something I wasn’t willing to participate in; I had too much at stake” He glanced at Morgan as he said this before returning his gaze to Peter, a somewhat sad expression on his face. Hesitating slightly, he continued. “Let’s just say I was reminded of a certain motivation that led me to run some algorithms through Friday. It took me a while to figure out how to get it exactly right, I had to-”

Peter couldn’t help but cut him off, excited about the topic because he actually knew a decent amount about it. “-get around the Grandfather Paradox first, right?” 

Peter knew a fair bit about Quantum Physics from a book his Aunt May had gotten him a few years ago as a Christmas gift. It had been the biggest and most complex textbook she could find at the bookstore, something that Peter was very grateful for as she had to work overtime the weeks leading up to the holiday in order to afford it. The book had been awesome though, providing him with knowledge like he’d never encountered before, and he had even theorized about its potential use for time travel himself.

Spying Tony’s reaction in the mirror, he looked rather taken aback at the comment. “Uh, yeah. That’s right,” he said slowly, dumbfounded that Peter was able to contribute to the conversation at only sixteen years of age, most adults having to study the subject for years before they understood. “The way people think time travel works actually doesn’t do anything. You’d only end up in a closed timelike curve.” he explained. Peter understood this perfectly.

“So instead of guessing where you guys would end up, I bet you invoked the Many-Worlds Interpretation, making it so everything was expressed probabilistically!” His voice rose as he continued expressing his thoughts, his body electrified from talking quantum realities with Tony, the ultimate genius. “That way you could avoid Quantum decoherence and consequently the Copenhagen Interpretation!” he finished, exhilarated that he had been able to bring out his science knowledge and have someone understand for once. 

Tony just stared at him blankly until his brain finally caught up with everything that Peter had just said, an awestruck smile slowly spreading across his face. “I’m impressed kid, I really am. That’s some incredibly high-level thinking. I bet you could even give Scott a run for his money, if he would can it long enough to give you the chance.” 

Peter beamed. To impress Tony with his knowledge meant a lot to him. Happily sitting back in his seat, he mulled over the worlds of their conversation, trying to engrain it in his mind forever, when it occurred to him that Tony still would have had to have constructed the actual time machine to allow for all the theories to take place. 

“So how did you actually build the model for the time travel machine?”

“Well, using Friday I selected some models that supported all those propositions so they would actually be compatible. After many failures, I finally got one that stuck: The Mobius strip- inverted of course.” 

“Wow.” He made it seem so easy, but in reality Peter knew all of the intensive math that was involved with the decision. 

“You must be the world’s greatest mechanic.” Peter joked, knowing that Tony liked to refer to himself as that sometimes. “You built all your suits, let alone the first one was in a cave, the _arc reactor_ , then War Machine and all your other suits, you built me a few suits, along with the Quinjet, the Stark tower, and now you’ve literally built a time machine! Is there anything even left for you to invent?” he rambled, knowing all this from the years he had admired Tony as his hero (which he still did, but now he got to work alongside him), failing to notice the forlorn look that was lining Tony’s face. 

“Mr. Stark?” he prompted when he still hadn’t replied. 

“What? Oh, sorry. What did you say kid?” Wondering what Tony was thinking about, but not wanting to ask, he was saved when Morgan spoke up instead.

“Penny for your thoughts daddy?” she asked curiously, picking up on the fact that he had been lost in thought. 

He figured that he must say it a lot to Morgan in order for her to use that phrase, as the only reason Peter knew it was from when Yoda used it in _SEAGULLS (Stop It Now): A Bad Lip Reading_ on YouTube, something he was sure that Morgan had never seen at the age of four. A smile stretched his face as he remembered the video popping up in his recommended section in the fall of 2015. He had been in the library, supposed to be doing research for an English paper but instead laughing to the point of tears as he hit replay for the fifth time in a row. Him and Ned had earned many irritated groans for breaking out into song in the weeks that followed, the slightest association setting them off. 

Unaware of what he was doing, Peter began to sing under his breath, “ _Rockin’, rockin’ and rollin’. Down to the beach I’m stroll-”_

At that moment his eyes had refocused on the world around him and had been met by Tony’s blank stare, a look that when coupled with Tony was a clear sign to shut up. Peter stopped singing immediately, mouthing “oh” as he peered back at him self consciously.

Tony then turned away and smiled softly at Morgan. “I was just thinking about Harley, Little Miss.”

Peter’s nose scrunched in confusion. _Harley? Was that the name of a dog they had owned or something? Never thought of Mr. Stark as a dog person, but I’d never thought of him as an alpaca person either, so who knows._

Morgan seemed to know who he was talking about though, as she squealed in delight. 

“Harley!” she shouted, “I remember him!”

“I’m surprised, we haven’t talked, in what, two years?” he wondered out loud.

“Two years this December boss,” supplied Friday. Peter jumped slightly at her robotic voice sounding through the car speakers, but relaxed as he realized that of course Tony had built her into the Audi’s programming. 

“Right. Last I heard from him was at Christmas, right before he set off to go do work for his school in Wakanda. Maybe I should give him a call?” he asked thoughtfully, rubbing his hand absentmindedly over his chin. 

“Can we call him now daddy?” Morgan pleaded, putting her puppy dog eyes on full blast. 

Pondering the request for a moment, he seemed to be actually considering it. “I don’t see why not. It would be nice to check in with the kid,” he concluded.

 _The kid? That’s what Mr. Stark calls me!_ Still confused about who this Harley guy was, he made his voice known. “Uh, hate to interject, but who’s Harley?” 

They pulled up to a red light and Tony stopped before he looked at Peter in the mirror once again.

“Sorry Pete, I forgot you two never met. You both remind me of each other so much that I get confused sometimes. He’s a kid that I met ten years ago when I was fighting the Extremis squad. You probably remember that, you were a year older than him back then so that would make you, what, twelve?” he asked as the light turned green and they continued driving home.

Peter did remember that attack, it was everywhere on the news. With the president kidnapped and the vice president being a part of the whole thing, it was all everyone talked about for months. _Mr. Stark met another kid in that time?_

“Yeah, I remember,” was all he said, still iffy about this Harley person.

“Well, it’s a long story, but basically he helped me back on my feet when I was in a rough patch and I’ve been keeping tabs on him ever since. He’s a good kid. I think you’ll get along nicely.”

“I’m sure,” he replied stiffly, but Tony didn’t seem to notice, too focused on telling Friday to call Harley.

Within seconds, the car was filled with ringing as Friday attempted to connect with Harley. She must have reached him because a male voice suddenly appeared.

“Hello?” it asked, sounding unsure. 

Peter could see a small contact image with a blinking blue outline on the Audi’s touch screen controls, the circle encasing a face which was partially covered by an outstretched hand but not enough that he couldn’t see the exasperation lining the boy’s face. His shoulders were draped with a crimson and black checkered flannel which opened to a deep black tee underneath, and a mass of blondish-brown hair sat on top of his head. Though Peter didn’t want to admit it, he was already beginning to see the resemblance. 

“Ah, the prodigal son returns from his travels! Hey Harley, it’s Tony. Or the mechanic, in case you’ve so easily forgotten me.”

“Tony, hey! I do know how to read caller ID though, so that might have given it away.” 

_The prodigal son… what? And Tony? He calls him Tony?!_

“You always were a smart-ass. Anyway, how have things been? How’s your mom?”

“She’s doing good. She’s glad that I’m home though. My internship in Wakanda finished a few months ago, but it’s nice to be back at Stanford.”

_Ha, Wakanda. Stanford. Bet he couldn’t talk Quantum Physics though._

“Did you enjoy Wakanda then?”

“Yeah, it was so cool! They’re so much further ahead than we are on everything! I got to learn a lot while I was there. As part of my engineering program they let me use their kimoyo beads, which are _sick_ , and even let me test out their Remote Transmission technology! It sucked that I had to go awol for the full year and a half though. I had to leave mom alone for Christmas, but it was a really good learning opportunity and she understood,” he responded, his rising volume as he went on telling Peter that he was clearly excited about his trip.

“Naturally. That was the opportunity of a lifetime kid! I certainly wouldn’t have held you back, even for Wakanda’s paranoid ‘no cellular’ policies,” Tony said in all honesty, what could only be described as a look of pride washing over his face. The look was short lived though, quickly replaced with his usual smirk, “And who do they even think they’re keeping out nowadays, announcing their existence to the world and letting in vagabonds like yourself? The biggest surprise there is that Wakanda didn’t have a home invasion over the holidays.” 

There was a short pause, Harley breaking through the silence with his own question. “Speaking of which, Christmas isn’t for another two months, unless you’re getting so old you don’t know the date anymore, so why are you calling?”

“Ha ha, very funny Kenner. Can an old man not call to check up on you?”

“When it comes to you? Usually, no.”

Peter couldn’t help but laugh. He had to admit that Harley sounded kind of awesome and he definitely wasn’t afraid to put Tony in his place. 

“Who was that?” he asked curiously, “That didn’t sound like Morgan and it was definitely too young for your laugh.” If Tony was going to respond it was cut off by Morgan’s interjection into the conversation. 

“That wasn’t me silly, that was Peter!” she piped up.

“Hey Morgan!” he exclaimed joyfully at her sudden appearance. “You doing alright? Is your dad driving you crazy?”

She giggled before replying, “I’m good! And daddy isn’t crazy, he’s a genius!” 

“Teaching them lies young Tony,” he tutted, “I’m ashamed”

“Listen kid,” Tony asserted, “I’ve got more brain power than you, Peter, and Morgan combined.”

“Whatever makes you sleep at night old man,” he teased, clearly liking to push Tony’s buttons. There was silence for a few seconds while Tony was sending a death glare at his image on the call screen, seemingly trying to figure out if it was possible to strangle him from the car, before Harley spoke again.

“Anyway, who’s Peter? Did you finally get that dog Morgan’s been begging you for?”

 _A dog? I’m not a dog!_ He thought heatedly until he realized he had assumed the exact same thing about Harley earlier. 

Tony snorted, his mock anger disappearing at the comment against Peter. “No he’s not a dog, but with the way his hair is right now he might as well be one.” 

He was, of course, referring to the tangled mess of brown hair on Peter’s head from not brushing it after his shower that morning. 

“No, Peter’s my other science kid that I so graciously adopted under my wing.”

“Another one? Going through another mid-life crisis, are we? Tony, you can’t keep adopting kids every time you’re sad.” Peter could hear the underlying affection in Harley’s voice through the joke, however, as it was something he could empathize with as well. Where would either of them be without Tony? 

Tony didn’t seem to mind the comment as he just confidently replied, “I can and will do what I please. Besides, this time it’s different. He’s part of the club”

“You mean he's a superhero too?” Harley questioned, realization slowly creeping into his voice. “Hold on, I saw you fighting with a kid at an airport on YouTube years ago! Are you talking about Spider-Man?!” he asked hurriedly, amazed that he could be talking to Spider-Man himself. 

At first Peter was hesitant to reveal who he was, his identity being something he held close to himself, but Tony must have seen the uncertainty on his face, as he motioned to him that it was okay mouthing “You can trust him” as he did so. 

Fully trusting Tony, and subsequently Harley, he decided to tell him he was right.

“Hey Harley, I’m Peter Parker, or Spider-Man as you guessed.”

“Oh my god, that is so awesome! You’re, like, the youngest Avenger ever!” he gushed. 

Peter wasn’t expecting all the praise, not used to getting any attention from strangers at all. All he managed was a feeble, “Oh, uh, thank you,” not knowing what else to say.

Harley didn’t even seem to notice, continuing to ramble on. “How do your powers work? Is your web fluid organic or do you manufacture it yourself? I tried making a version myself as part of a science project in Wakanda but I couldn’t even get close to what you have.”

Peter was shocked that Harley seemed so invested in him. It made him feel bad for his earlier jealousy of him. Clearly he was a good guy and seemed to be pretty smart too considering he was one of the few accepted into Wakanda’s new student exchange program.

“Oh, yeah it took me a while to develop the correct formula. I used to do experiments all the time during science class. Those teachers never pay attention to anything.”

“Tell me about it! You’ll have to teach me the secrets sometime, maybe you can help me out with my project. I’m trying to develop a new type of thread for stitches that is not only super strong, but flexible so that it doesn’t disrupt the skin so much and organic enough that it’ll dissolve or break apart once the wound is healed.”

Peter felt even more guilty now. Clearly Harley was only trying to do good in the world, just like himself, and he was definitely on board with helping him out.

“I’d love to help you out with that man! It sounds like you’re trying to do a really great thing here.”

“Thanks Peter! I can’t wait to collab on this!”

Tony suddenly piped up from where he had been letting the two boys talk, Peter now realizing that the car had stopped and they were back home.

“Listen I hate to interrupt this saving the world love fest going on here, but we just arrived home.”

“Yeah, okay. I have to go anyway. It's my turn to cook dinner tonight. It was nice talking to you Peter!”

“You too Harley,” and he truly meant that too.

“Bye Harley!” shouted Morgan, making sure her voice was heard.

“Bye Morgan, I’ll talk to you later okay?” he reassured her.

“Okay!”

There was a short pause after that, Peter not really knowing why the call hadn’t hung up yet since Harley seemed to be done talking. About to fill in the gap himself, he was cut off as Tony finally spoke up.

“Bye to you too Harley, or did you forget your awesome mentor was still here?” he asked in fake annoyance, but Peter could see the joy on his face from his three kids interacting. 

“I didn’t forget,” was all he said, his voice sounding extraordinarily normal. 

“Alright that’s enough. Talk to you whenever wise guy,” he said as he ended the call, Harley’s laughter echoing in the background. His contact image disappearing as the control screen went dark, Tony turned to look back at Peter and Morgan. 

“Do not be like him, he's a bad influence.” Looking at Morgan he seemed to reconsider his statement. “On second thought, Morgan, don’t listen to either of these guys. They’re both bad influences on you, I don’t want you turning out all smart-mouthed and reckless.” He winked at Peter when he said this though, showing him that he was only kidding.

Morgan, however, didn’t understand the joke and immediately came to Peter’s defence.

“Peter is good! He’s funny and I love him!” she stated very seriously, crossing her little arms in emphasis. 

Peter’s brain seemed to blank at the statement. _She loves me?_ He could only sit there, frozen in shock at the bold statement, mouth opening and closing like a fish as he fought to find the correct words to say. Saving him from his painful attempt at replying, Tony, who looked a bit surprised, but overjoyed at the statement, spoke up instead.

“Oh you do, do you? And how much do you love Peter?” he pried, joking, but tender. 

“I love Peter 3001!” she exclaimed proudly.

Tony’s eyes widened, his eyebrows going up in surprise. 

“Wow. 3001 huh? That’s a record Little Miss. You must love Peter a whole lot.”

“I do!”

While Peter didn’t understand the significance of the number, he knew it must mean a lot from the amazed and adoring smile that was spread across Tony’s face as he looked at the two of them in the back seat. Peter’s brain was still trying to catch up with everything, the emotions hitting him all at once. By the time he fully realized everything that had happened, he noticed that both Tony and Morgan were no longer in the car. Glancing around to see where they had gone, he was startled when the car door next to him suddenly opened revealing Tony holding Morgan on his hip. 

“You coming kid or are you just going to sit in the car all day with that goofy grin on your face?”

Tony mentioning the smile caused him to realize that he did indeed have a huge grin that covered his face, his cheeks actually hurting from how long he’d been smiling.

“No, I’m coming,” he replied, dazed, as he too slid out of the car. 

Walking around to the back of the SUV so he could help bring the mountain of groceries they had brought, he grabbed as many bags as he could loop on both arms, as his super strength made it easy to lift them all at once. Making his way toward the house, he thought back to everything that had just happened. Morgan had said she _loved him_ and he had been introduced to a kid that he didn’t even know existed. It was a huge surprise to learn that Tony had met up with another kid before him, but hearing Harley speak he could see why Tony liked him. Peter could just tell that he was a good person, no Spider-sense picking up anything alarming, along with the fact that he just sounded nice. And he seemed really smart too, something that he admired as he figured the two of them would get along really well, maybe create some cool stuff together and hopefully not get into too much trouble (although he didn’t make any promises on that). Reminiscing on the fact that he had possibly just made a new friend, he didn’t even notice they had successfully put away all the groceries until Tony made an announcement about it.

“Now I don’t know about you two, but I’m ready for some doughnuts.”

“I’m ready too daddy!” Morgan replied gleefully, jumping up and down at the thought of the finally getting to eat the doughnuts she had been longing for since breakfast. Excited himself, Peter quickly threw out his now melted ice pack, his head basically healed thanks to his abilities and also not wanting May to see the evidence of his stupid decision. 

Walking around the counter he snagged one of the glazed doughnuts from the box, preferring them over the strawberry kind, and joined Tony and Morgan in the living room where she was sitting on Tony’s lap, already digging in with the white powder covering her whole front. Sitting on the couch across from them, his own doughnut clutched in hand, he was also thoroughly ready to enjoy the treat. His Aunt May didn’t let him eat a lot of sweets, pushing the dual argument that they were unhealthy as well as unaffordable, so being able to have this donut now was like taking a bite out of a life which he had been denied for so long. He couldn’t help the huge grin that crossed his face as he took his first bite, groaning in approval. _These doughnuts are amazing._ They practically melted in your mouth, the glaze dissolving on your tongue and the donut itself being so fluffy and soft that it felt like he was eating a cloud. He was perfectly content savouring the bite he just took until reality came crashing down, Tony’s amused voice breaking him out of his donut filled heaven.

“You need a room to yourself with that doughnut kid? I don’t know who's enjoying it more: you or the four year old.” 

He swallowed the bite he had taken before replying, frazzled that Tony had been watching him get so excited over the doughnut. He was about to come up with an excuse when he suddenly heard the crunching of tires over the gravel driveway as May finally arrived home from the many errands she had to run. _Saved by the May-bell_ he thought in relief, taking another bite from his doughnut so he would have no reason to respond until she arrived to draw Tony’s attention. 

Hearing a car door slam, it was only a moment before she walked through the door with many of her own bags, filled with clothes and other items they needed while they stayed at Tony’s. Letting them drop at the bottom of the stairs, she doubled back and snatched a doughnut from the open box, plopping heavily onto the couch beside Peter. He figured that her day hadn’t gone well as not only did she not comment on the doughnut Peter was eating, but she also grabbed one for herself, something she never did.

“Hey May,” greeted Tony from his chair in the corner of the living room, Morgan sitting on his lap still thoroughly enjoying her own donut. “How’d it go at the old apartment? Make nice with the tenants?”

Happy that all attention had successfully been taken off of him, Peter turned his expectant gaze on May. He was curious about it too, now knowing that something must have happened to annoy her. Popping the rest of his donut in his mouth he listened intently.

“Ugh, don’t even get me started on them! Those people! They’re evil! They know that we used to live there, but since those new laws were passed during the snap, stating that you could move into any house unoccupied due to the residences being snapped away, they don’t care! All they said was ‘This is our place now, sorry’ and slammed the door in my face!” She was clearly annoyed with the new residents, and rightly so. For everyone who had been snapped away it was like no time had passed at all, so having to come back and find everything totally different was really hard to wrap your mind around.

Tony, despite May’s clear anger, smirked and hesitantly offered a different approach. “You don’t think this has anything to do with the frying pan situation do you? I’m not sure what happened, but all I could hear was screaming and loud clanging in the background of Happy’s message when he came to pick you up.”

 _The pan!_ Peter had forgotten all about it with all the excitement of learning about Tony’s new life.

“Yeah, what did you do with the pan Aunt May? You didn’t hit them did you?” While he hoped it wasn’t true, it definitely wouldn’t surprise him if she did.

She looked affronted that he had even suggested it. “Of course not! When I was snapped back, I came right back to where I was before, the kitchen, and when I turned around there was a family of four sitting at my dinner table! I obviously had no idea what had happened, I didn’t even realize that I had left, so my immediate thought was that someone broke in. I grabbed the closest thing to me, a frying pan that was sitting on the counter, and started swinging it around, threatening them and telling them to get out of my house. Well they didn’t like that and-” She was cut off by Morgan’s gleeful exclamation.

“A pan? Like Rapunzel in Tangled! That’s so cool!” she admired, in awe that May had done something like one of her favourite princesses. 

Meanwhile Tony just glared at May over Morgan’s head and mouthed the words “thanks a lot”, as if in fear that Morgan would want to start brandishing her own pan around the house. 

Peter on the other hand was delighted; finally he had someone that would understand cool pop-culture references, unlike all the adults in his life that never understood anything relevant.

May just ignored Tony and addressed Morgan kindly, “Yes sweetie, exactly like Tangled!”

“I’m going to go tell mommy!” she said happily, jumping off of Tony’s lap and running to the backyard where Pepper was still out doing yard work. 

It looked like Tony was going to start on May for being a bad influence, but she cut in before he could say anything.

“Anyway, they all got up and started screaming at me to get out of _their_ house, which just confused me even more, so I kept swinging the pan at them when they tried to get closer. They kept screaming at me saying they were going to call the police, but then Happy burst in through the door and helped calm the situation down after a while, telling me what had happened and letting the people living there know that I had in fact lived there before and that everyone had actually been brought back to life. They didn’t believe him at first, but then one of them got a phone call from someone who had previously been snapped away and their moods changed pretty quickly. They did manage to tell me that some of our stuff is being kept in one of the storage facilities created to hold onto people’s most personal belongings, as the government passed that other law to hold on to any unclaimed possessions from the snap. I was able to do some digging today, but it’s going to take a while and a whole new apartment to get it all back.”

Hearing the story about the people being snapped back to life reminded him of his concerns for Ned. He figured he might as well ask if she knew anything about it, as she was close with Ned’s mom.

“Hey, May?” he started, “Do you know anything about what happened to Ned?” He was scared of the answer that might come, but he had to know the fate of his best friend. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Peter! I should have started with that, I know he’s your best friend,” she said sincerely, sending Peter an apologetic smile. “I talked with his mom and they were both snapped away along with the rest of his family.”

Peter sighed in relief, sinking back into the couch cushions. Ned was still his age. He hadn’t lost his best friend. 

He vaguely noted that Tony started talking again, but he wasn’t listening. Relieved that Ned was in the same boat as him, it was now hitting him how much had really changed in a span of the five years he didn’t even know were gone. In what had only been seconds for him, the whole world had changed and Peter never got the chance to change with it. He supposed he was feeling a fraction of what Steve had felt when he had woken up from the ice. He had gone in during a time of war, a world where technology still had a long way to go, and emerged seventy years later to find himself in a land he never knew possible. The amount of changes humanity went through in those seventy years was beyond anything that anyone could have predicted and Steve had just been thrown right into the centre of it with no time to process anything, much like the people who had been snapped back to today. Thinking about all the things he missed made him sad, but looking around and seeing the life that Tony had built, and that Peter was now a part of apparently, made him feel better and gave him hope that he, too, could rebuild his life. If anything, the snap had taught everyone how important family was and if it led to Peter’s growing in size as a result, he figured things would be alright in the end.

“Oh!” May suddenly blurted out, turning to Peter with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “I guess you’d want to know about your friend Michelle Jones too.”

Breaking out of his thoughts, Peter’s ears perked up and he looked over to his aunt with wide eyes. MJ was not his closest friend, nowhere near where he and Ned were after a lifetime of friendship, but she was still important to him in her own weird way. He didn’t have many real friends after all, and it wasn’t every day that someone made an effort to get close to him. 

“W- yeah, have you heard something?” he asked nervously, fear gripping him at the thought of losing their newfound bond.

May chuckled. “Ned’s mom told me that she texted him after they were snapped back, that she was trying to reach you too but didn’t get a response. You left your phone on the bus, didn’t you honey? Actually, you don’t have to answer that, because I found it in our Snap-Storage. I guess they brought your things there after neither of us could claim it.”

Shoving her hand in the pocket of her jean jacket, she pulled out his dated smartphone and tossed it through the air. Peter deftly caught it without really looking at the direction it was coming from, more focused on opening it to check for MJ’s message. Clicking her name in his contacts, he felt a rush of relief as there was indeed a text from her, several texts actually. The first was just after he had left the bus on their school trip, a second when they had arrived back at Midtown High, and a third reading “got dusty, you too? please answer.” Logic was telling him that he should be sad that she had to go through the hell that was being snapped off the face of the Earth, having to come back to a life that was so different than before, but he couldn’t shake the happiness that lit up inside him. He didn’t have to lose her in his life. 

His face must have been reflecting what he was feeling, as May shot him a fond smile. “Well go on, don’t let us being here stop you from answering. As the person who got to experience this sort of thing from the other end, here’s a word of advice: it's not a good idea to keep a lady waiting.”

Peter gaped at his aunt, appalled that she would say something like that. Especially when what she was insinuating was so far from true. About to respond to her inappropriate comment, he was cut off as Tony piped up.

“Pete, you never told me there was a lucky lady waiting up for you in the city. If I knew that when we were uptown then we could’ve dropped by!”

Peter’s jaw was practically on the floor, unable to believe that he was having this discussion with not only May, but Tony Freaking Stark too! He never thought he’d say this, but he would give anything for the conversation to go back to doughnuts.

“Why do you have to say it like that?? I-It’s not like that, we’re just friends! Girls don’t even think about me in that way!”

May smirked at his retort. “So what was Liz then, an alien?”

“May you can’t make those kinds of jokes anymore!” he whispered angrily, worried that with the world they were living in Tony might actually take her seriously.

This only served to excite Tony more, a sly grin spreading across his face. “So, there’s more... whether they be intergalactic or not. I was going to say, I’d be surprised if girls weren’t lining down the block to go out with this face,” he hummed, framing Peter’s head with his thumb and index fingers. 

If he didn’t know any better, Peter would swear that steam was coming out of his ears. He curled his legs up into his body, trying to become small enough that he would disappear between the couch cushions, never to be seen again.

After studying him for a few seconds, Tony lowered his hands and added, “Well actually, I’d believe that too. You’re pretty awkward, kid.” 

Peter’s hands flew up to his face, a long groan ripping from his throat. He took it back, families suck.


	16. A Lot to Figure Out

He was vaguely aware that something was currently poking him in the leg, but spirits be damned, he was so tired that he couldn’t muster the energy to check it out.

After they had talked with May for a bit, Pepper and Morgan had finally come back inside to make dinner. Enjoying another great meal, Peter had been dragged off by Morgan to play outside, where they ran around and had fun until it got dark and they were forced to come in. All that play, along with the excitement of his Krispy Kreme fiasco and the interrupted sleep the night before, had left Peter exhausted and ready for a much deserved night of sleep. 

So that was where he was now, sleeping like he had never slept before, or at least trying to with the poking sensation still happening on his leg. 

He rolled over to try and find a more comfortable position, sinking back into the pull out couch, which was probably more comfortable than his own bed at home- well what _used_ to be their home. His body almost pulled him right back into the depths of sleep when the poking suddenly became quicker, more desperate than before. Groggily, he rolled back over and tried to figure out what was disturbing him.

“Peter!” squeaked a small voice. 

_Morgan?_

Prying his heavy eyelids open he reached over and turned the lamp next to him on and saw that the clock mounted on the wall near him read 1:18 am. He had already been asleep for just over an hour, having stayed up to watch TV with Tony despite his tiredness, before going to bed. 

“Hey, Morgan, what’s wrong?” he croaked out, sitting up in bed despite wanting to do nothing but crawl further under the covers. His concern for the small child was outweighing that decision, however, and he focused as much as his half awake brain could on her. She was standing next to the bed, one of her stuffed bears clutched in her arms and a sad look on her face, tear tracks reflecting from the lamp’s dim light.

“Hey, kiddo, what is it?” he asked firmer this time, concerned at what could be causing her to get upset.

“I… I had a bad dream” she replied quietly, hugging her bear up to her chin.

“Oh no, a bad dream? I get those too,” he responded in sympathy, remembering the horrors of the one he’d had the other day. He leaned down from where he was sitting on the bed and picked her up, setting her on his lap so that she was facing him. 

“Did you want to talk about it?” he asked gently, not wanting to push her in case she didn’t. “I find that talking to someone about my bad dreams always makes me feel better.”

She started fidgeting with the bear on her lap, but then decided to open up. 

“Well, I had a dream that aliens were attacking the house! And I went to find daddy ‘cause he said any time I’m scared or in trouble to find him and he’ll make it all better. But I couldn’t find him! I looked everywhere and he was g-gone! He said he’d always protect me, but he w-wasn’t there!” 

She was practically crying again by the end of it, her brown eyes filling with tears as her lower lip started to wobble. 

“Shhh, don’t cry!” he hushed. The last thing he wanted was for her to start bawling and wake everyone else up.

“It’s okay, it was just a bad dream. Do you wanna know how I know?” he asked, trying to draw her attention away from the dream. It seemed to work as she perked up and her lip stopped wobbling. 

“Yes, please!” she urged, shaking her head enthusiastically. 

“I know because I know your daddy and he will never leave you alone. He will always be there for you. I have proof too, because your daddy has always been there for me. I’ve done some really dumb things in the past and even when I didn’t think anyone was going to be there to help me, your dad always found a way to help me out.” 

He was, of course, talking about the moment he had been stalking the Vulture’s goons and gotten picked up by the Vulture himself. When his parachute sent him flying, he had gotten trapped inside, spinning helplessly toward the ground without an idea of what was going to happen. When he hit that cold water he had immediately begun panicking, the parachute wrapping itself around him further and making escape on his own impossible. He had actually given up, accepted that he was going to die in that moment, but then Tony had swooped in and snatched him out of the water in his remotely piloted suit. He had never admitted it, but Tony had saved his life that night and he had never been more relieved that he was monitoring him through his suit. 

“My daddy saved you?” she asked, astonished.

“You bet he did! So whenever you’re sad or upset, remember that your dad will always be there for you, just like he’s always there for me.” He thought for a moment before adding the last part, “and if he can’t make it to you for some reason, know that I’ll always be there for you too.” 

She launched herself at him and wrapped her small arms around his neck. On instinct he wrapped his arms around her too, glad that he had made her feel better.

“I love you Peter!” she exclaimed in all seriousness from where her head was pressed into the crook of his neck.

At that moment, he knew he would die for her. Morgan Stark’s safety was now at the very top of his list. 

“I love you 3001.” he replied vehemently, the shock from the first time he had heard it long gone, now replaced with the full knowledge that he loved this little girl and would never let anything happen to her. He was going to care for her like a brother would for a little sister, which he guessed that’s what he was now. The thought made his heart melt, breathing out a sigh of content that warmed his whole body.

She gave him one last squeeze and then fell back, moving so she was sitting next to him on his right. 

“Petey, can I sleep with you tonight?” she asked innocently, pushing the puppy dog eyes at him in full force. 

He didn’t think his heart could melt anymore than it already was, but _Petey?_ She had given him a _nickname,_ something for her alone to call him and he was over the moon. The fact that she was willing to allow him into her life, even after him throwing her the other morning, made him ecstatic. The thought of finally having a younger sibling to take care of, something he had always wanted but knew he couldn’t have, was a privilege he wasn’t going to take for granted. 

“Of course you can! We can have a sleepover tonight and I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you.” He couldn’t say no after all that, his love for her practically pouring out of him at this point. Besides, maybe she’d help him to have a peaceful sleep instead of the nightmare-fuelled one he had gotten the night before. 

“Yay!” she cheered loudly, but Peter gently shushed her as a reminder that there were people sleeping in the next room over. She then hit him with the most adorably guilty look ever, her pout melting what was left of his heart into a puddle with the rest. 

He smiled to reassure her that he wasn’t mad and pulled the blanket up so she could slide underneath, flinching slightly at the touch of her icy feet to his leg. She snuggled right down next to him and placed her head on his arm. He reached over to quickly turn off the lamp and scooted down so he too was laying flat on his back. Moving his arm to better wrap it around her, they were both in position to go back to bed. 

“Goodnight kiddo.” 

“Night Petey” she whispered, voice already heavy with sleep.

With that they both fell back asleep and Peter had to admit, it was one of the best sleeps he’d had in a while. 

\--

The next two days passed quickly, Sunday approaching them before they even knew it. They had been good days though, a much needed mental and physical rest for everyone before the memorial dinner. But now that they had had time to rest, they were ready to get down to business. 

Ever since they had all gotten up that morning they had been busy cleaning the inside of the house and setting the many tables up outside where they were going to eat dinner, thirty three people being too many to fit inside Tony’s small house. Once the tables were set and ready it was high noon, meaning they had to start making dinner. Pepper had prepared a huge feast to feed the many heroes, consisting of tender roast beef, creamy mashed potatoes, a collection of roasted vegetables, fresh buns, and homemade gravy to top everything off. 

Peter and Morgan simply watched and drooled over the dinner as it was being made, not being trusted with helping prepare the actual meal, and probably for good reason. However, Tony had promised the two of them they were allowed to help with dessert when Morgan had protested. Appeased with helping make dessert, Morgan had pulled Peter to sit at the counter with her to watch all the cooking that was happening in front of them. Soon the kitchen was filled with the sounds and smells of the cooking feast, making Peter’s stomach grumble in anticipation. 

Pepper was cutting up the many vegetables to be roasted while Tony was currently tending to the roasts, basting them before he put them back into the oven so they wouldn’t get dry. Aunt May was helping out too, chopping mountains of potatoes into quarters so they would soften easier in the big pot waiting for them on the stove. She had just filled one huge bowl of potatoes and went to get another one, when she absentmindedly picked up a pan that was in her way to move it to the side. Peter saw Tony’s mouth quirk into a small smile and he knew that a joke was incoming. 

“Watch out guys, that’s a deadly weapon she’s holding right there,” he joked, motioning with his head to the pan May was still holding in her left hand. 

“Yes, it is,” May said absently while lifting the pan to inspect it. Her gaze then shot back up to him as she narrowed her eyes, “and I might just use it on _you!_ ” 

Tony just chuckled, enjoying the show, and continued to baste the roast beef. Peter and Morgan on the other hand were practically on the floor laughing, thoroughly amused by the comedic duo.

The adults continued prepping dinner for about two hours after that, making enough food to probably feed an entire army. Morgan had gotten bored of sitting and watching, so she had asked Peter if he wanted to watch a movie with her, to which of course he agreed. That’s where he found himself two hours later, sitting on the couch with Morgan snuggled at his side, watching Tangled as Morgan had been inspired to watch it after May’s story of the frying pan and even more so after the scene she and Tony had made. The movie had just ended and Peter was wiping the happy tears from his eyes when Tony called out to them.

“Hey kids, ready to help with some dessert?” 

“I’m ready!” Morgan yelled as she jumped off the couch and ran over to where her dad was standing in the kitchen. Peter walked over to join too, happy that Morgan was so excited to make dessert.

Reaching the kitchen, however, he paused and glanced around. There were plastic tarps covering _everything._ Confused and a little scared as well, he resumed walking and joined Morgan who was standing on her stool so she could reach the counter.

“Uh, Mr. Stark? You’re not planning to go all _Dexter_ on us are you?” he asked as he glanced at Tony who was finishing putting everything they’d need on the counter.

“What? No, why would you even think that?” Finally finding the bowl he had been looking for, Tony set it on the counter and gave Peter a strange look. 

“Well, the plastic tarps everywhere are kind of giving me that vibe.”

Glancing around at the tarps Tony just chuckled. “Totally forgot I put those up. Let’s just say that there wasn’t a lot of faith from two certain ladies that the two of you wouldn’t destroy the kitchen.”

“What?! I’m totally responsible! May’s the one that can’t cook,” he deflected, upset that she hadn’t trusted him to make a cake, especially with her ability to burn everything she attempted to make. 

Tony just lifted one eyebrow. “From what I hear there was a certain incident involving rice and fire?” 

Oh yeah. He had totally forgotten that he had almost burned his and May’s apartment down, but that was only one time!

“In my defence, how was I supposed to know it was _two_ parts parts water to one part rice?”

“Everyone knows that kid. It’s rice making 101.”

“Whatever,” he huffed, annoyed that he hadn’t even done anything yet and he was already being criticized. 

“Anyway,” Tony emphasized, wanting to move on, “I fought for both of you, so you kids better be grateful. They finally caved, allowing you to make a chocolate cake, after much pleading on my end, so you better blow them away with your skills. I’m rooting for both of you to not make me look bad.”

Peter figured the only reason they had said yes was because of the tarps and the fact that they currently had 4 apple pies baking in the oven.

“We won’t let you down sir.”

Nodding, he checked that all the ingredients they needed were laid out, pre measured to limit even more mess, before finally moving the stand mixer onto their workbench from its place on the back counter. 

“I’m going to give you one word of advice here: go slow with this thing. If you start it too fast you’ll quickly find yourselves taking a bath in batter, got it?”

“Got it,” he reassured. Honestly, he thought that the adults were taking this cake making too seriously. How hard could it actually be?

Trusting that they could handle it from there, Tony walked over to the living room where he'd be out of the way but close enough that he could help in case anything happened. 

“Yee of little faith,” Peter quipped as he shot Tony a good natured glare to which Tony replied with a simple thumbs up, humour shining in his eyes.

“Okay Morgan,” he said as he glanced down to where she was standing next to him. “Are you ready to make the best chocolate cake ever?” he asked excitedly.

“Yeah!”

Full of enthusiasm, they finally started making the cake. Pouring all the wet ingredients into the bowl first, they mixed them by hand before slowly adding the dry ones. Making sure Morgan went slow as she mixed, they were doing a good job at keeping things mess free so far. When the batter was mostly combined, Peter took the bowl and locked it into the stand mixer, or at least he thought he did, so that they could beat the mixture on high to make sure everything was thoroughly combined and the end result was light and fluffy. 

Giving Morgan the honours of turning the machine on, another mistake on his part, she pushed the lever to set the speed and immediately went to the highest setting. Having supposed to start it out slow, and the fact that Peter had not in fact locked the bowl into place properly, caused the small amount of unmixed flour to coat the air, quickly followed by wet batter, spraying every single surface near them with sloppy brown streaks as the bowl rocked all over the place. Tony probably saved his kitchen when he quickly jumped in and pulled the power cord, causing its chaotic spinning to stop. 

Peter hesitantly looked around. There was cake batter _everywhere_ , coating all surfaces that weren’t the bowl _._ On him, Morgan, the walls, the floor, and glancing up he even saw some on the ceiling. 

“Oops?” he provided lamely, cringing in fear that Tony was going to kill him.

“Sorry daddy,” came Morgan’s small voice from below, where she had moved to hide behind Peter’s legs. 

Tony’s face was unreadable for a moment before he broke into a gentle, yet awestruck smile.

“I think that’s a record,” he declared, no heat to his words. “It took you all of five minutes to destroy the kitchen. I’m impressed.”

Peter sighed in relief, letting out an uneasy laugh. Tony wasn’t mad at them.

“I am so sorry Mr. Stark, I thought I locked it in place! I’ll clean it up, I promise.” 

Tony just walked over and ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry about it kid, that’s what kitchens are for! Making messes and having fun. Besides, this is exactly what the tarps were meant for. Although, you did manage to get it on the one spot I never suspected you could reach, so congratulations on that.”

He was of course referring to the ceiling, the only spot that he hadn’t added a tarp because who messed up a ceiling in a kitchen? 

“Why don’t you and Miss Maguna here go clean up while I clean this mess here,” he added, probably wanting them to get out of the kitchen before they destroyed something else. When you’re done, you can come back down and I’ll let you guys decorate it, how about that?” 

“Sounds good Mr. Stark, thank you,” he replied as he took Morgan’s hand, intent on bringing her to Pepper to give her a bath.

“Be grateful that I like you kids too much to yell at you!” he joked in fake annoyance as they walked out of the kitchen, but Peter saw the loving look on his face as he stared at the huge mess they had just made. 

Walking up the stairs he sheepishly dropped Morgan off in Tony’s bedroom where Pepper was currently getting ready. She didn’t seem too surprised at the mess and instead just thanked Peter for bringing her.

Making his way to Morgan’s own bathroom which he now shared, he made a quick detour and knocked on the door of the room May was sleeping in to get a change of clothes for himself to wear after his shower.

“Come in!” she called and Peter opened the door. May was in her robe, having just come out of the shower herself, trying to decide what she should wear for the dinner. Instead of having everyone wear black like a normal funeral, Tony was just having people get dressed up in any type of formal attire they wanted. Steve had said he hadn’t wanted it to be a funeral, so Tony was trying to honour that wish as best as he could. 

“Hey Aunt May,” he said as he walked through the room over to where a suitcase was filled with the new clothes Tony had bought him. “I’m just getting some clothes for after my shower,” he explained.

“No problem, now what dress-” she paused when she looked up and finally saw what he looked like. He knew he probably looked crazy with all the cake batter covering his front. “What the heck happened to you?” she laughed, amused by his current situation.

“Cake making accident,” was all he provided, not wanting to fuel her teasing any further than that.

“I can see that,” she replied, looking him up and down. “Anyway, what do you think of this dress for the dinner?” 

She held up a navy blue dress, a line dress with long sleeves sporting a deep v neck cut and was tapered to lie just above the knees. It was really nice.

“I like it,” he said sincerely. It would go nice with her hair.

“You sure?” she asked, sounding conflicted. . 

“It’s really nice May, I think you should wear that one,” He confirmed, knowing she was always self-conscious about how she looked.

“Okay, well thanks for your help Peter. Now go get yourself cleaned up!” she urged with a huge smile on her face, happy to have made a good decision with her dress. 

Peter grabbed his clothes and walked out of the room and into the bathroom across the hall. Not wasting any time, he put his fresh clothes on top of the counter before undressing and hopping into the shower. 15 minutes later, he emerged, thoroughly cleaned of cake batter and freshened up for the memorial dinner. He had just put on the clean pair of clothes he picked out when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Pete?” came the call of Tony’s voice through the bathroom door. “I have something I want to give you”

Peter walked over and opened the door, still drying his hair with his towel. “What’s up Mr. Stark?” he asked casually. 

“Hey kid.” 

He took note of the way Tony swayed back and forth in the doorway undecidedly, the crease in his brow and the eyes that couldn't seem to settle on one particular aspect of his face, and he looked... nervous? A sudden tension filled the room, Peter unsure of what to expect from him in this moment. Unless he had been in some sort of immediate danger, he had never seen Tony this way before. _The_ Tony Stark never got nervous, never faltered, but contrary to common belief there was a definite awkwardness in the way he stood, and his hands were hidden behind his back. Holding something just out of view. 

“So, I know that we bought an outfit for you to wear tonight, but I have this old suit of mine that I thought might fit you and I just thought that you, um, might want to wear it instead?”

He slowly revealed the suit from behind his back looking unsure, worried that Peter wouldn’t want to wear his old suit. Peter, on the other hand, was speechless and beyond honured that Tony had even thought to give up one of his suits for him. The only suit experience he had was through shopping for them with May and Tony giving him his own suit to wear made Peter think of a world in which his own dad was still alive and doing the same for him right now. It made his heart ache with loss for his own dad, but also in appreciation for the one he had gained in front of him.

“It’s totally up to you though. Whatever you decide is fine.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. It’s perfect,” he responded, his voice small but sincere.

The suit itself was black and it was paired with a light purple dress-shirt, a contrast that looked really good together, and in Peter’s opinion would help lighten up the somber moods of the night as they payed tribute to those they had lost. 

He could see Tony’s face relax as Peter accepted the suit. “Okay great. It should fit pretty well. It’s actually the first suit that I owned and I was a lot smaller back then,” he joked before continuing. “Also, I didn’t include a tie because I figured a youngster like you wouldn’t want to wear one, so restrictive and itchy, so I settled for a matching pocket square instead.”

He handed Peter the suit as he explained, pointing to the purple pocket square sitting on the top of the pile. 

“It’s great. Thank you,” he said, a little stronger this time. He wanted so badly to say more but the words were out of his reach, so instead he just smiled appreciatively and hoped that was enough. 

Tony smiled softly back before his eyebrows shot up in realization. “Right! I forgot something. You change into this and I’ll be right back.” he explained, shutting the door as he left. 

Peter immediately changed into the suit, marveling at it as he did so. With how old the suit was, it was still in great condition, and much nicer than any suit Peter had ever worn. He tucked his shirt into his pants and slipped on the jacket, pausing to admire how he looked in the mirror for a second. _Not bad._ Looking down at the last piece, the pocket square, he picked it up to place in his pocket when he realized he didn’t know how to fold it. Fumbling around trying to figure it out for a solid minute, his concentration was interrupted by another knock at the door. 

“Come in,” he called, figuring it was Tony again.

“I got it,” he said as he raised his right hand to show Peter what he had forgotten. In his hand was a beautiful golden watch. It had a black leather strap and an eloquent gold coating around the rim and throughout the face as accents, while the background was matte black, making the accents pop out even more. It was simple yet beautiful, and Peter immediately fell in love. He never had a nice watch before, so the fact that Tony was giving him one to borrow was really nice.

“Woah.” He was amazed at how expensive the small accessory probably was. 

“You like it then?” Tony asked mischievously, raising his eyebrows.

“It’s amazing Mr. Stark!”

Tony motioned for him to hold out his hand, placing the watch in his palm when he did so. His smile shifted to something more heartfelt, and an unreadable look came into his eyes.

“It’s yours,” he said simply. Peter just stared at him in shock. 

_It’s mine? What was he talking about?_

“What? No, Mr. Stark, that can’t be right, this isn’t my watch” he insisted, confused as to why Tony had even said that.

Tony chuckled. “Kid, this is me giving it to you. This watch is yours now.” 

Peter could hardly believe what he was saying. This watch was his? He had never owned anything this nice in his life. 

“I-uh-wow-I mean- Thank you?” he stammered, his statement coming out more like a question.

“You’re welcome.” 

He hesitated before asking the question that was on his mind. “Do you mind me asking why you’re giving this to me? I mean, I really appreciate it, but I didn’t even do anything.”

He regretted the question immediately as Tony’s face fell and his eyes filled with sadness.

“I didn’t mean to upset you!” He diffused quickly. “It’s okay you don’t have to tell me, thank you again for the watch Mr. Stark-”

“No it’s okay Pete, it’s just… It was actually something I picked out for your birthday. I was having it specially made and I had just ordered it when Thanos attacked and then you-know-what happened. I never thought I was going to be able to give it to you, but now I can, so I thought I should. Besides, you deserve it kid. You did great out on that battlefield. Saved my ass that’s for sure.” 

Peter was taken away by the emotion Tony was displaying, not used to seeing his walls come down.

“I really love it Tony,” he replied wholeheartedly, figuring this was a time he should use his actual name. 

“I’m glad.” Tony cleared his throat and looked at the pocket square still sitting on the bathroom counter.

“Need some adult help with that?” he joked, diffusing the situation into a more lighthearted one after his sudden display of emotion.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” While he normally wouldn’t admit defeat, his stubbornness standing in the way of him asking for help, Peter knew that Tony wanted to change the subject. 

“Here, face me.” 

Peter turned so he was facing Tony and watched as the man in front of him folded the cloth easily and slipped it into the suit pocket, using his hands to smooth it out. 

“There” he remarked as he gently turned Peter toward the mirror to admire his completed outfit. Peter saw, and felt, him place his hands on his shoulders, holding them there while he admired how Peter looked. 

“Suit looks good on you. Couple inches taller and you’d fit in it perfectly.” 

The suit actually did fit him pretty well. Other than the sleeves and pant legs that hung a bit long on his frame from the slight height difference (although that could easily be fixed by rolling them up) the rest of the suit fit him nicely. In that moment, with Tony admiring him proudly in the mirror, his hands on his shoulders, he felt like a part of him that had been incomplete was being filled. He was finally getting the fatherly experience of being dressed up for the first time, and a rush of adoration was pouring out of him for Tony. He had never even gotten this experience with Uncle Ben, as he too had died before Peter had reached the age of school formals. He was broken out of his thoughts by Tony gently squeezing the back of his neck.

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

“What?” He hadn’t realized that Tony was watching him carefully as he got lost inside his head.

“It’s something my mom used to say to me when she noticed me lost up here, which was more often than not,” he explained, pointing to his own head. 

“Oh, yeah, no I've heard it before. It was actually in this Star Wars video on YouTube, so funny, and-” Peter rambled, the thought from a few days ago spilling out of him until Tony squeezed his neck again to drag him out of his tangent, then sliding his hand back down to Peter's shoulder. 

“What’s on your mind, Pete?”

He froze at this, the direct question feeling much heavier than the other phrasing, and much harder to talk around. Not able to look Tony directly in the eye, Peter stared off into the mirror at their two forms standing together. It was oddly comforting, feeling the separation but still having a sense of connectedness with the man beside him. Tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves, he hesitated before divulging what he was feeling.

“I, um- was just thinking about my dad and my Uncle Ben. I never got this with them, both of them died before I could ever really experience this kind of father-son moment.” He hadn’t even realized that he had basically called Tony his dad right then, too investing in his pent up emotions. 

“I really miss them you know? I may not have gotten a lot of time with my real dad, but my Uncle Ben was as good as. He was the greatest man I knew. Selfless, caring, funny, and he was always looking out for me and Aunt May.”

He saw Tony watching him carefully in the mirror's reflection, something weighing heavily in his eyes. “He sounds like a great person. I bet you miss him a lot,” he said thoughtfully. 

Peter nodded, realizing that Tony probably knew where he was coming from, having lost his own parents as a young adult. They continued to stand there, a moment of understanding passing between them when Tony suddenly spoke up. 

“Anyway,” he said, changing the subject, though the mystery emotion remained vibrant in his eyes. _Was it pity?_ “I better go get ready myself before Pepper finally takes up her clipboard and kills me. We’ve got about an hour before people start arriving.” 

Tony's hand then released from his shoulder and Peter was finally able to pull his gaze away from their reflections, watching his back as he began walking out of the bathroom to go get changed, when he suddenly stopped and turned around. 

“Also, I may or may not have finished yours and Morgan’s cake, so it might just be sitting on the counter cooling and ready by the time you get downstairs. I also possibly could have left everything you need to decorate it on the counter.” 

And with that last sentiment he was gone, leaving Peter thoroughly puzzled as to where his mind was truly at. 

He was about to leave as well when he realized he was still holding the watch in his left hand. Raising it up to admire it once more before he put it on, he flipped it over and noticed an engraving on the back.

_This belongs to you._

_-TS_

A message that echoed that of the one he had left for him when returning the suit he had taken away after the fiasco with the New York Ferry. He smirked and pulled the watch onto his left wrist. It was heavy, but it felt good, like it belonged there. Looking in the mirror one final time, he saw that the watch seemed to complete the outfit, tying everything together nicely. Happily thinking about the watch and the moment that he had just shared with Tony, he made his way downstairs to meet Morgan and finish their cake. 

Walking down the last steps he saw that the messy drop sheets were gone and the batter splatter on the ceiling had been cleaned up while he was away. Morgan was also standing back on her stool, all dressed up for the guests that were, Peter glanced pointedly at his new watch, now coming in about 45 minutes. She was wearing a dark purple dress, plain except for the delicate embroidered flowers that lined the base of the skirt. Pepper had put her hair in a high ponytail and even fastened a small purple bow onto its base to match her dress. 

He was about to walk over to her to tell her she looked nice, when he noticed that Tony’s signature glasses were sitting on the table in the living room. Not being able to help himself, he walked over and picked up the glasses, bringing them over to where Morgan was standing.

“You look cute!” he exclaimed as he walked up and stood next to her at the counter.

“Thank you!” she replied politely. “You look cute too!” Peter laughed at her choice of words.

Putting the glasses on, he admired how he looked in the reflection of the fridge. 

“Hey Morgan, check it out, who am I?” he teased before he put on his best Tony voice.

“I am Iron Man” he sounded out, feeling like he had actually done a pretty solid impression.

“Daddy!” she cheered, seemingly because she was pleased with his impression, and he grinned widely at her. However, he then noticed that her eyes were focused on something behind him and to the right. 

Feeling his presence without even turning around, the smile that was stretching across Peter’s face quickly fell as the realization donned on him.

“Not doing impressions again are we Peter? I don’t think you’ll ever do better than your one of Thor. How’d it go again?” came the quip, already knowing the speaker was tilting his head to try and remember.

Peter groaned before he slowly looked over his shoulder to see Tony, now fully dressed in his own suit which was a rich navy blue with a white dress shirt. Not wanting the joke to go any further, he immediately tried to shut it down. 

“What? I don’t remember that, I think you must be thinking of someone else Mr. Stark.” 

He prayed that Tony would let it go, but being Tony, he didn’t drop it and continued to think until it popped back into his mind. He grinned mischievously before enacting that very moment that had been saved thanks to the “Baby Monitor Protocol” he had installed in Peter’s suit.

“It is I, Thor Son of Odin!” he taunted, capturing Peter’s terrible attempt at Thor’s accent perfectly. 

“No. No, no, no, no!” Peter said loudly, trying to cover up the embarrassing impression. _Why did Mr. Stark have to pay attention to that,_ he thought miserably. “I don’t think we wanted to hear that.” 

“Oh, but I think we did, right Maguna?”

“Right!” she giggled. Peter knew she didn’t understand the context but even he had to admit, the way Tony had said it _was_ kinda funny. 

“I’m just pulling your leg, Pete. The glasses are a nice touch though,” he admired as he looked Peter up and down, taking in the full look. 

As his eyes once again landed on the glasses a crease formed between his eyebrows, as if he had suddenly remembered something. With the past emotions that Tony had displayed since Peter was snapped back he could at least guess at what they meant, but he couldn’t read this one at all. The way he slightly puffed his chest made it almost seem like pride, but the tightness of his smile gave a hint of sadness, the combination of the two making Peter’s head hurt. Tony then blinked, clearing the emotion away and composing himself once more. 

“But I’m going to need them back,” he said as he reached out his hand to take them from Peter. 

“Right,” he said as he quickly took them off and passed them to Tony where he placed them inside his suit jacket pocket. Putting on a smile that was almost real, he addressed the two kids. 

“You two have fun now, I just have to finish some stuff before the guests arrive. Don’t make a mess, I just cleaned up the last one you made!” he warned as he turned to walk out the door. 

Choosing to forget about the strange emotion for now, Peter joined Morgan next to the now cooled cake and asked, “Are you ready to decorate this cake?”

“We’re going to make it look so beautiful!” she said as she clapped her hands together in excitement. 

Together they grabbed the icing Tony had left on the counter and started carefully frosting the cake, Peter making sure they took their time so they wouldn’t get their clothes dirty. After they applied all the chocolate icing they could, Morgan grabbed a piping tube of pink frosting that she had insisted they buy for the cake at the store, and began drawing swirls and polka dots all over the cake. When she finished, she took a step back to admire her work.

“Hmm,” she thought for a moment. “It’s missing something!” Peter didn’t know what she was thinking, the cake looked pretty good to him, but he wasn’t the artist here so he let her figure out what they needed. 

“Sprinkles!” she shouted after a moment of thinking, her outburst making Peter jump up and immediately fly into action, searching for any sprinkles he could get his hands on. 

Looking around the table, Peter didn’t see any so he decided to look through the cupboards to see if any were hidden away there. Rifling through three different cupboards, he still wasn’t having any luck when he finally spotted some in one of the small cupboards above the sink. He was about to bring the treasured sprinkles over to Morgan when a picture caught his eye. Looking closely, he realized it was a picture they had taken the day that Tony had first offered an Avengers position to him. _I didn’t know he kept this._ He thought, surprised that Tony had hung on to something like that. In it, they were both holding up bunny ears behind each other's heads and smiling joyfully, Peter’s Stark Internship diploma displayed between them (although upside down). He brought the picture and sprinkles over to Morgan. Giving the sprinkles to her, he absentmindedly made a comment about the photo while she resumed decorating the cake.

“I had no idea Mr. Stark had any pictures of me,” he thought out loud, surprised when Morgan answered him.

“That’s my daddy’s sad picture,” she answered nonchalantly, continuing to meticulously place sprinkles on the cake. _Sad Picture?_

Confused, he asked her, “What do you mean by sad picture Morgan? We both look happy in this!” 

Unfazed she explained further. “That’s the picture that made daddy cry and when I told Mommy she said it’s the reason that he has his sad days.”

She explained it like it made perfect sense, but Peter was even more confused. _Sad days? Tony was_ **_crying_ ** _? What is she talking about?_

Not wanting to come across accusing, he casually asked, “What are sad days?” 

“It’s the day daddy always gets really sad” she explained like it was a known fact. “Every year on the same day, daddy will get real sad and Mommy will take me out for ice cream so he can be alone because she says it’s his ‘sad day’.” 

Mr. Stark had a day that he got sad every year? What did his picture have to do with it? Wanting to know more, he pushed her a bit more for information. “Do you know what day his ‘sad day’ is?” 

“August 10th,” she replied simply. Peter swore his heart stopped. _August 10th was his birthday._ Still trying to process that information, Morgan looked up at him with her big doe eyes and continued, not noticing the shock on Peter’s face.

“I'm not supposed to tell, but this year we came home on his sad day and I went to find him and when I found him in the basement, he was crying and saying he was sorry and that it was all his fault. I saw him holding that picture. When I told mommy she said that daddy was very sad ‘cause someone he loved had gone away’ and to not tell him that I saw.” 

Peter had no idea that his death had affected Tony so much. His reaction after they had first met back up on the battlefield and his anger at Peter for almost getting himself killed when he had the gauntlet was starting to make a lot more sense now. Going back to her cake like she hadn’t said anything unusual, she left Peter’s brain whirling at the new information. 

Moving numbly, he managed to put the picture back where he had found it and continued to take all the information he had learned in. The watch that Tony had just given him and the meaning behind it suddenly made a lot more sense. He felt a bit stupid at how he hadn’t seen this before, even through all the affection and care Tony had shown him on the battlefield and after while welcoming him into his home. Tony thought of Peter as family, as his _son_ , just as much as Peter thought of him as his father _._ The watch was proof enough for that. It was a gesture a father would make for his son, something that said “I’m proud of you and I love you”. It was a gesture Peter had never experienced before, having lost both his father figures before they could have passed on something this significant to him. 

Thinking further into it made his brain spin. _Tony had grieved after he had disappeared._ Grieved like a parent who lost their child. Having this new information made him realize how much family mattered to Tony. How much _he_ mattered to Tony because he _was_ his family. It was a realization that brought up emotions in him that he didn’t even know he was suppressing. A warmth was filling his chest, replacing something long ago locked away. He was starting to let himself be loved by a father figure again. Finally let someone fill the role of dad that both his biological father and his uncle Ben had left empty and shattered the nights they had died. Learn to trust that there was someone to be “dad”, someone to love him like their own. 

Someone like Tony.

With this thought, came a rush of adoration and love he hadn’t felt in a while along with a comprehension that set their relationship in stone. Tony loved him and _he loved Tony._ It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Even if just for this moment, he was free from the burden of loss he had been so heavily feeling throughout his childhood. He was allowing himself to be loved again and it was a damn good feeling.

As if seeing the world in a new light, a new understanding of why the memorial dinner was so important to Tony hit him. Tonight they were celebrating life with the loved ones they still had. Because of the heroes that had sacrificed their lives, they were able to go home to their own families. A concept that hadn’t had real meaning to Peter before now. He had a _family._ Him and his Aunt May had people in their lives to support them other than themselves now, bringing with it an appreciation for how lucky they all were to be alive and together.


	17. Destiny Fulfilled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes Peter's chapter. Next is Bucky! His is only one chapter, so after that we'll be on our last section of the fic! I hope you've been enjoying so far :)

Standing at the front of the yard, Peter was waiting diligently for the guests to arrive. While Tony, Pepper, and May were all doing finishing touches to the dinner and making sure everything was ready for the guests arrival, Peter had been handed a clipboard with a list of names and told to greet them as they arrived, informing them to head to the backyard. Four eight foot tables had been set up on the lawn, all pushed together to form one huge table that was big enough for 38 people to sit at. Each placemat had an assigned name so everyone could easily find their seats after Peter directed them out back. He was grateful that Tony had given him this job, both in the fact that Tony trusted him to do it, but also because he knew Tony had figured Peter wouldn’t like the crowd after his panic-inducing dream, so he had stuck him in the one place he wouldn’t feel too overcrowded. 

Glancing at his watch, he noted the time was 4:05. _People should be arriving any minute now._

As if on cue, he heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway. It slowly made its way up the gravel path and stopped as it got close to where Peter was standing. He heard the engine shut off before two people stepped out of the car. It was Strange and Wong, characteristically on time. They were both smartly dressed in black suits, Wong in a pale blue shirt and Strange in white, both with black ties secured around their necks.

“Peter,” Strange greeted as he walked over to where he was standing. 

“Doctor Strange,” he greeted back. “Mr. Stark wanted me to let you know to wait in the backyard until everyone arrives. The table’s set up back there so you shouldn’t miss it.” 

“Thank you Peter,” he replied. Peter thought this was going to be the end of their conversation, but instead of walking away Strange just glanced at him, a gleam in his eyes.

“And thank you for not attacking me this time. I think I’ve had my fill of fighting for a good while now.”

“Oh, uh, right. Sorry about that sir, I didn’t mean to punch you.”

Surprisingly Strange laughed, something Peter didn’t even know he was capable of. “I’m just messing around Peter, no hard feelings here.”

Peter laughed nervously in response, not really knowing how to react around the mystical man. “Oh, yeah, I knew that.”

“Anyway, I won’t keep you from your job any longer. Wong and I will see ourselves to the backyard.”

The interaction left Peter puzzled, not knowing what had just happened. _I didn’t even know Dr. Strange could joke._

Pleased that he seemed to be doing his job right though, he began waiting for the next set of people to arrive.

Only a few minutes more after Strange’s arrival, a group of people walking up the driveway caught his attention. Squinting to see who it was, he had a hard time placing the faces until they rounded the corner and came into full view. It was Quill, Nebula, Drax and Mantis accompanied by _a_ _racoon and a tree?!_ Rubbing his eyes to confirm that what he was seeing was real, he could only watch in utter surprise as they made their way to him, arguing. 

Staring at the group as they approached, something suddenly clicked. He _knew_ the tree. The memories of his entrance to the battle flooding his mind, he distinctly remembered seeing the tree as part of their front line next to Wanda and the person who he now knew was named T’Challa. 

Intrigued to know more about who they were, he tuned in to their bickering as they approached, his enhanced hearing able to pick up their loud voices without even trying.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” came Quill’s angry voice. “We could _not_ have made that. There’s too many trees! You would have busted my ship _and_ we would be stranded on this stupid planet longer than we need to be.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, _I_ could have made it! Then we wouldn’t have had to park all the way in that stupid field and walk here. Besides, weren’t you originally from this ‘stupid planet’? It sure does explain a lot about you,” the racoon bit back at him, smiling the whole time. _Wait a minute. The racoon could talk??_

Finally making it over to Peter, he didn’t even think they saw him as their bickering over their ship turned into a shouting match. While Drax, Mantis and the tree weren’t involved they didn’t seem to be in the mood to do anything about it, choosing to stand there and watch what was happening in mild amusement. 

Realizing the craziness of the situation he was looking at, Peters brain was practically doing backflips. The sheer fact that animals were talking and a tree was sentient was a lot to handle and he was relieved when Nebula, who was also a part of the group, stepped forward and broke him from his feeble attempts to understand what the hell was going on. 

“Forget those idiots,” she snapped. “What are we doing here?”

“Uh…” He had to think for a moment, his brain totally distracted by the group in front of him. _What were they here for again? Oh, right._ “The dinner is just behind me in the backyard. Tables are set up, you can’t miss it.”

“Great,” she muttered, walking away from the group. 

Still arguing, Quill and the racoon automatically followed behind, along with Mantis and Drax. The tree, however, didn’t move, still staring intently at Peter. 

Not knowing what to do, he just awkwardly stared back until he heard the racoon call, “Groot! Get your stick ass over here before I turn you into kindling!” 

“I am Groot,” the tree replied in what Peter could only describe as an annoyed tone and walked off to join the rest.

 _Wait. Annoyed tone? The tree was annoyed?! The tree could TALK?_ It was all too much for him to handle. First talking animals, now talking trees. Baffled by the interaction he could only marvel at the absurdity of his life. What had once been all about homework and building things from scraps was now filled with super human people, talking animals and trees, and literal gods. 

Thankfully, everything went smoothly for the next twenty minutes of arrivals. People would show up, greet Peter kindly, and then make their way to the backyard where Peter could hear the growing chatter as more and more people arrived. Checking his list, he noted that only Thor and someone named ‘Valkyrie’ were left to arrive. 

He picked up the pencil that was given to him to cross off names as people arrived and doodled lightning bolts around Thor’s name, grinning way too wide at the poorly drawn squiggles. The concept of personally meeting his favourite Avenger, second to Iron Man, of course, made him simultaneously giddy and anxious. 

While he had always thought Thor was cool, his opinion of him had only grown stronger as they began learning about him in his Physics class. Everything about him was just so mysterious. He defied everything that humanity had once thought they knew. How could he harness his lightning? How did Mjolnir work? There were so many questions that they had yet to answer from his appearance on Earth and the fact that Thor himself was going to be here, right in front of him where he could ask as many questions as he wanted, made the little kid inside him jump up and down in excitement. He almost did just that, but his rational mind was able to regain control right before he could leap into the air. Heat flooding into his cheeks, he wondered how it was possible to have already embarrassed himself with no one else around. 

_Come on Parker, pull yourself together for the god of Thunder! You will_ not _make yourself look stupid in front of Thor!_

A few tense minutes of waiting later, as Peter's anxiousness to meet his hero grew, a car finally puttered down the driveway. Thor was in the driver’s seat while a woman that Peter didn’t recognize sat in the passenger seat next to him. _I guess that’s Valkyrie._

He was surprised by their arrival in a vehicle as he was used to hearing about Thor’s sky entrances, having even seen the telltale burn on the Avenger’s compound lawn for himself every time he visited. Laughing to himself quietly, he thought back to how Tony had complained about the god and his “lack of regard for lawn maintenance” each time they passed by without fail. 

Still chuckling, half because of the memory and half from nervous energy, he watched as the car came to a stop and the engine was turned off. Expecting Thor to get out and make his way over to him, Peter was confused when he instead headed toward the back of the car, lifting the tailgate where he immediately began rummaging around for something inside the trunk. 

Mesmerized by his actions, his trance was only broken when he heard the click of a door opening and saw Valkyrie get out. Slamming it shut behind her she then began walking quickly in Peter’s direction, seeming to not want to stick around. 

“I _told_ him not to bring that stupid thing!” she muttered angrily as she passed, not even stopping to spare a glance at him standing there. Having no clue what she was referring to, Peter’s jaw literally dropped as Thor pulled out a potted _tree_ from the trunk before shutting the lid and making his way over to Peter. Holding the tree in his one hand, Peter realized it was a type of palm tree and probably a foot shorter than himself. 

“I heard that a plant is what you bring to someone’s house when you first visit. Do you think this will do?” He asked, holding the tree up for Peter to see.

Peter wasn’t really sure what to say, no one he knew had ever brought a _tree_ to a dinner before, so he just replied, “Uh… yeah, I think it’s great! You can give it to Mr. Stark in the backyard.”

He didn’t think disagreeing with a Norse god was a good idea anyway. _Let's just hope this one isn’t the talking kind._ He didn’t know how much Tony would appreciate a tree that could talk.

“Perfect! Thank you for your help...” he trailed off as he realized he didn’t know Peter’s name.

“Oh, I’m Peter. Peter Parker,” he filled in, but quickly clarified when he saw that Thor still had no idea who he was. “Sorry, I’m Spider-Man”

Thor’s face morphed into one of recognition.

“Ah, so you are the one Stark talks about all the time.”

Peter’s mouth fell open. _Thor knew who I was?! Wait, Mr. Stark talks about me to the Avengers?!_

Thor chuckled at his startled face, clapping him on the back in sympathy before walking toward the backyard to give Tony the tree. The action was enough to send Peter stumbling, catching himself before falling so he wouldn’t get grass stains all over Tony's suit. Straightening up and pretending that nothing had happened, he realized how bizarre that interaction with Thor had actually been. _I just had a casual conversation with the god of Thunder while he held a tree in his hand._

It was like the opening to a bad joke. _The god of Thunder walks into a dinner party with a tree…_

Laughing to himself, once again, about the joke he’d made, his eyes widened as the full realization of what he had just sent Thor to do sunk in. Figuring he should warn Tony about the tree before Thor suddenly approached him with it, Peter began jogging awkwardly to where everyone was waiting. Stumbling into the backyard, he was met with a sea of heroes who were spread throughout the backyard around the ten tables that had been pushed together to form one giant table, chatting while they waited for everyone to be called to sit. Weaving through the crowd without a second thought to look for the familiar spiky brown hair, his search was brought to a screeching halt when he heard Pepper call, “Alright everyone, find your seats!” and the crowd began to move, bodies jostling past him as they made their way to the table. 

As the bodies rushed by, time seemed to slow down. Everything around him seemed to be distorted. The bodies became nothing but a blur and he could no longer make out what the voices were saying, his blood pumping loudly in his ears. He realized that he was panicking again, letting his emotions take control but he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Not knowing what to do, he barely registered the hand on his arm pulling him away from the crowd and sitting him on the grass. Still hyperventilating he was barely aware of his surroundings, until a deep voice started to break through. Starting to calm a bit he could now understand what the voice was saying.

“Deep breaths Peter, nice and slow. In and out buddy.” It was Tony. Once again Tony was there to coax him out of his anxiety attack.

“Here breathe with me,” he said calmly and Peter felt him guide his hand to his chest. Feeling Tony’s deep calm breaths gave him something to focus on other than the looming panic threatening to surround him. Doing his best to copy Tony’s breathing he eventually found himself beginning to calm, his heart rate slowing considerably.

“That’s it. You’re doing great Pete,” Tony encouraged. 

After a few minutes of deep breathing his vision finally cleared and the hum of all the guests returned. He didn’t even register the words that came out of his mouth until he had said them.

“Thor! And a _tree._ He’s bringing-” Tony cut his confused garble of words off.

“Easy, I know, kid. It’s leaning up against the house right now.”

“Oh okay, that’s good,” he mumbled, still a bit disorientated from his panic attack.

“Why don’t we get you over to the table where you can have some water, huh?” Tony suggested, already helping Peter to his feet. 

“Okay.”

Leaning on Tony they made their way to the table slowly. Helping him into his seat, which Peter noted was next to Tony near the head of the table (something that would have surprised him if he hadn’t just been thrown into another panic-induced spiral) he made sure Peter was situated before pouring him a glass of water, which he accepted readily. Draining the glass, he began to feel a bit better and started to look around at all the Avengers sitting around the table. Tony was to his left with Pepper next to him at the head of the table. To Pepper’s left sat Thor, who seemed to be concerned with Peter’s entrance but wasn’t saying anything, and to his left sat Bruce. Looking to his own immediate right he noticed that Rhodey was sitting next to him, engaged in conversation with Sam about some old government mission he went on. 

Realizing that he was safe, that everything was fine, he finally relaxed and began feeling like himself again. Taking a final few deep breaths he was fully ready to engage in the dinner. As if sensing that Peter was ready, Tony rose from his spot at the table’s head. Striking his spoon on his wine glass he managed to get everyone’s attention.

“Hi everyone. I know that you don’t normally see the serious side of me, neither do I, so just bear with me as I try to work this out.” Everyone gave a small laugh. 

Continuing on with his welcoming speech, he addressed the elephant in the room.

“I know we just finished a long overdue battle with Thanos a few days ago, so I’m glad that you could all make it out to this sad, but needed, memorial dinner. If you look around the table tonight, you’ll see familiar faces, and maybe even some new ones, of people you fought with on the battlefield three days ago. But more than that, you’ll see three empty chairs, each with an item placed on the table in front of them. I’ll get more into that after we eat, but I just wanted to preface the meal with the fact that those empty seats are here to acknowledge the people we lost along the way, the lives that Thanos managed to take as they so valiantly protected the world in a time when he wanted to take all of us with them. So all I ask is that as you’re eating, you think about those lives, Vision, Natasha, Steve... Honour the sacrifices they made so we could be sitting here today.” With that, he ended his speech and sat back down while everyone clapped politely, murmurs filling the table about the sincerity of his words. 

Introductory speech done, May, Pepper, and a few Avengers who had offered to help then went back into the house and returned with their hands full of food. Steaming hot, they placed the many trays loaded with the roasts, piles of vegetables, mounds of mashed potatoes, soft buns and enough gravy to last a single person a lifetime. When the last of everything had been placed down, Pepper announced “dig in!” and everyone started to pile their plates with food. 

The dinner itself went smoothly. The air was filled with the clanking of metal on china as people eagerly dug into their meals, but also the soft hum of conversation as people talked with those closest to them. Glancing around while he ate he noticed that Rhodey was once again engrossed in his conversation with Sam. Looking across from him he could see Thor adamantly talking with Pepper. Tony seemed to be lost in thought about something while he ate and not wanting to bother him, he decided to simply listen into the conversation between Pepper and Thor.

“-and I can make that simply from the food I eat?” he heard Thor ask, astonished. Confused as to what he was referring to he continued to listen.

“Yes and it’s pretty easy actually. Tony doesn’t care much for it, but then again he doesn’t really care much for gardening. The amount of times I’ve told him to keep Gerald away from my goji berries!” She paused, clearly frustrated at the thought before continuing. “Anyway, I have a book on composting I can give to you if you’re interested.” Thor’s reply was cut off by the fact that Peter stopped listening. _Composting?_ The god of Thunder wanted to know about _composting?_

Shaking his head at the idea, he instead chose to focus his attention back on Tony. Watching him closely he could see that something was on his mind. He wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on around him and Peter could now feel his Spider-sense engaging as Tony’s anxiety rose within. Thinking about what could be bothering him led him to the only conclusion: The speeches. Tony had never been the one to give the big speeches, that role always falling to Steve, so to have to stand up now in front of everyone and honour their fallen friends was a job that came with a lot of stress. As Tony had done with him, he tried to think of something to do to help him when Tony suddenly stood up, his empty plate in hand. 

“Anyone else ready for dessert?” he asked, looking around the table as if desperate for something to do. Peter looked too and saw that basically everyone had cleaned their plates. A general murmur of consensus washed through the crowd. 

Before Peter could even ask if he wanted help, Tony began collecting people’s plates and had whisked back to the kitchen to bring out dessert. Pepper followed suit and after a moment, they returned, this time with their hands full of pies and the one cake that Peter and Morgan had decorated. 

When the many pies and cake were placed on the table Peter heard Morgan proudly exclaim, “Me and Petey decorated that!” from her position at the other end of the table, where she insisted she sit with Happy, Strange, and Wong (he had heard it was because she liked Strange’s ‘magic hands’). Everyone laughed and turned to look at Peter, who instantly turned red and tried to shrink down in his chair. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to be hanging out with Morgan, he just didn’t like all the eyes currently on him. 

Everyone quickly turned back to the dessert, however, and soon the air was once again filled with the sounds of forks hitting plates. Peter himself finished his dessert pretty quickly and he noticed that Tony was once again nervous about something and playing with his dessert more than eating it. 

Even more concerned then before, he decided to ask him about it. Tension coiled in his stomach as he thought over the many ways to begin the conversation, confronting those tough emotions still seeming like an impossible challenge even after their heart to heart earlier. It still felt like there was a barrier between them, like he was looking at Tony but not really seeing him. His defences had gone back up, deflecting his true feelings, and what Peter would pay to know what was going on in his mind… _Pay. That was it!_

“Penny for your thoughts, Mr. Stark?” he asked quietly, not wanting to alert anyone else that something was wrong.

Tony’s eyes shot up to look at Peter’s. He looked panicked that Peter had noticed something, but as quickly as he had seen it, it vanished and was replaced with his usual smirk. Closing his eyes with a deep sigh, he dipped his head and nodded, clearly kicking himself for bringing up the phrase earlier. 

“Yeah, no, I'm good kid,” he said unconvincingly, but Peter knew he didn’t want to talk about it. 

“You sure?” he probed one more time, needing to be certain that there was nothing he could do.

Tony then looked up at him and smiled, raising his hand to pat Peter on the shoulder. “I’m sure. Don’t you worry about me, Pete, I’ll be alright. You just enjoy your dessert.”

He knew that Tony had seen the empty dish in front of him and was just looking for an excuse to change the subject. Giving in, he nodded back at him and picked up his fork to stab at the few crumbs scattered across his plate. He’d let it go for now. 

He carefully watched him for the next couple of minutes, but he had seemed to break him out of the trance he had been in and was now making an effort to chat with those around him. 

Probably ten minutes later, dessert was completed and everyone was now thoroughly stuffed. Noticing the lull in eating, Tony began fidgeting in his seat before he suddenly rose once again, his wine glass clutched in his right hand. Clanging his spoon on it as he had done to get everyone’s attention before, he took a deep breath as he prepared for his second, and last, speech of the night. 

“If I could have everyone’s attention please,” he started, his voice resonating across the table. The hum of chatter immediately died down as people focused their attention on Tony standing above them all. He continued, “I hope you all enjoyed the dinner tonight, but I figured it was time to get into the real reason we’re all here today. This dinner is being held to honour the fallen, so I thought it was only right to talk about what actually happened and say a little bit about each of them. I will forewarn you, though, that the last time I gave a speech in front of this many people I gave away my identity.” 

The group laughed, clearly remembering the day that Tony had announced he was Iron Man after his months away in capture. 

He cleared his throat and continued. “But today I’m here to give light to identities. Three, in particular, that left a mark on all of us throughout their lives. Those three were Captain Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Vision. Three unique individuals that all came together to fight for the same cause and who, unfortunately, lost their lives along the way. I won’t stand here and pretend that things have always been smooth between me and the people being honoured tonight. Hell, I’ll even admit that I felt betrayed by them after the incidents surrounding the Sokovia Accords. But I was a different man then than I am today. I was a man that was scared and confused, uncertain if we were actually doing more harm than good. After everything we’d been through together, I lost sight of the bigger picture and instead focused on trying to save the world by sheltering it.”

“Steve didn’t agree, something that I couldn’t understand at the time, and, well, we know how Natasha felt about picking sides. But their decision to not sign the accords and consequently become fugitives left a deep mark on me. I had only been trying to keep us together, keep us a family, but in doing so I drove a wedge further between us, until it was too late. I was left in a world where the Avengers were no more.” He paused looking pained before continuing. “As hard as it is for me to admit, I honestly don’t think I would have ever changed my mind, allowed myself to forgive them, if it wasn’t for Thanos’ attack on Earth. I was stuck in a loop of self-pity before this fight changed my perspective on life. See, it’s not about us. It never has been. It’s always been about protecting people, keeping Earth safe, and I lost sight of that. When I found myself stuck on that ship headed to Titan, I realized just how short life actually is. Only an hour prior I had been running in the park with my beautiful fiancee and now wife, discussing our future, our longing for a family…” he trailed off, staring affectionately at Morgan. 

“It was here I realized that I didn’t want to live in a world of hate anymore. I wanted to be able to forgive those that had hurt me and wipe the slate clean. An understanding that came too late, however, as Thanos had arrived. Like I experienced on Titan and I know you experienced here: He kicked our asses. We lost. Something I never thought possible when we were together, but happened because we weren’t a team that day. We were a disjointed mess and we paid the price. This loss brought the bitterness back to my life I was so desperate to lose. It took me five years to come back. Five years to become the person I was trying to be when Thanos first attacked. As we finally managed to bring the team back together there was a fire in us I had never seen before. It was either bring everyone back or die trying. Today we are honouring that attitude.”

“Three people put their lives on the line so that we could be here today. We all know we wouldn’t have defeated Thanos without their valiant sacrifices: Vision gave his life to protect the mind stone. Natasha gave her life for the soul stone to bring everybody back. Steve gave his life to defeat Thanos once and for all so no one would have to suffer like we did again. Because of these honourable efforts, I thought it only right to stand here and talk a bit about what each person meant to me, to all of us. About who they truly were. Because we’re not only here to honour their selfless actions, but also the good human beings they had come to be.”

Tony glanced down, swallowing harshly before returning his eyes to the crowd. Peter could see he was nervous, but he was doing a great job. Everyone seemed to be hanging on to every word he said, taking in the memories of the friends they had lost. 

“Starting with Vision. In order to really delve into who he was, I have to start with where he began. Jarvis. My first and most valuable AI system to me. Now, some people thought I was crazy for developing an AI to which I was so deeply connected, but they, like you, do not know the background on which Jarvis was built. Unlike what so many assumed, he was not just an AI, but an important part of my family. See, Edwin Jarvis was a man of many tales. Starting off as a pilot in the second world war he fought vigilantly. He was a good soldier, an honourable one like a certain Captain we all love, until one day he went against everything he knew, everything he stood for to get a Jewish woman, the love of his life, to the States. Shortly after this, he was kicked out from the army, thereafter meeting my father where he began working for him. He was a respectable man with incredible integrity and when dad was too busy with work, he was the one to raise me. He taught me many of the things I know today, helped fuel me to become the man you all know, and love some of the time.”

That earned a few chuckles, and even Tony cracked a smile, but set his face as he continued. “And when he died, I decided it only fit to name my first real AI after him, as a way to bring honour to his name and what he did for me. You may be wondering why I’m telling you all this, but the reason is simple. When Vision was born, he inhabited Jarvis, among other things, but one thing I always saw in him was his ability to love deeply: Something that was deeply rooted in the real Jarvis. They both loved with all their heart, one could even call it their hamartia, as they were willing to let everything go to save the ones they loved. To see Vision go so soon was a tragedy, something that never should have happened. But like the real Jarvis, we will find a way to honour him, whether it’s simply in our hearts or in the way we go about the world. But for now, if we could all raise our glasses to our fallen friend. To Vision,” he finished, raising his glass into the air. 

Everyone echoed the sentiment and took a sip of their glasses. Finding Wanda sitting at the far end of the table, Peter could see that she was crying, but looked grateful that Tony had said such nice words about him. Putting his glass down, Tony continued with his speech. 

“Next, I want to honour Natasha. Now, I’ve known Natasha for a long time. I first met her when she came to my house under the pseudonym Natalie Rushman. It may not surprise you that within three minutes of meeting her she had single handedly taken Happy down in an impressive attack using only her thighs, emerging without a hair misplaced on her head.” 

A faint “I let her do that!” from Happy came from the other end of the table, causing everyone to laugh. 

“Most of my interactions with Natasha were strictly work-based, along with many of yours as well. While we may have only known one side of her, there was one person in which she opened up to more. Showed a side we didn’t get to see. I’m of course referring to Clint and his family, whom I had help me in telling you about this side of her. The softer more family-orientated side that not many people got to see, myself having only seen it once. While it may be hard to believe, Natasha loved kids and was always happy to help around the Barton household. Known as their ‘Auntie Nat’, she loved Barton’s kids like her own and spent the majority of her non working time around them, helping them with school work and anything else she could do. I tell you this to show you that Natasha was more than what the Red Room tried to condition her to be. She was a thoughtful, loving person and stood as a reminder that no one is strictly what people try to dictate them to be. In the end, she sacrificed her life for us. An act of selflessness. But what does it really mean to be selfless? It can refer to laying down your life for others or simply laying down your defences to let others into your life. It takes a rare individual to embody both. Something Nat achieved easily as she never was meant to be like everyone else. She truly was the soul of our group. A soul which now lives among all of us today. Hopefully we can embody her spirit and rise up to be as selfless as our friend. For this, I ask you again, raise your glasses in toast to honour the life of the person who was way more than she seemed. To Natasha.” 

In the same manner as with Vision, everyone raised their glasses, Peter noting Clint’s above the rest. His face was set, his mouth in a straight line and Peter could see him trying not to get emotional at the table. 

“Lastly, but absolutely not least, is Steve. The Star Spangled Man with a Plan. Always willing to throw his life down on the line. Now, I know that I didn’t always get along with Steve. I’ll admit that it took me a while to get used to him, to see him as more than my dad made him out to be. Growing up, all I ever heard was “Steve Rogers”, my dad’s greatest achievement, the experiment that had gone right. He was the shining star of the household even while he was frozen in the ice and I had always resented him for it. But through working with the Avengers, I realized that he was more than that star on his uniform. Steve was a genuinely good person, with the biggest heart out of anyone I knew. While we did butt heads, I’ve come to realize recently that he was always trying his best to make up for the wrongs in his life. See, Steve was a family man. Not in the traditional sense, of course, but in the depth of his willingness to protect those he loved, and in my periods of blind rage I wasn’t able to fully understand that. To me all I could see was the golden boy of my dad’s dreams. I realize now, that we probably butt heads on the regular because of, and I can't believe I'm saying this, how much we were alike. We would give anything to do what we thought was right, often landing ourselves on two sides of a coin. But this is what made Steve Rogers the great man he was. He was never willing to back down from a fight, and he was always willing to help someone in need, no matter who they were or what their story was. Well, as long as they weren’t a bully that is, we know how he felt about those.” 

Everyone laughed sadly, it was true. Steve had made it known on many occasions.

“So Avengers, today we are here to honour the man that was always willing to do what he thought was right, no matter what anyone else told him. So please, join me in this final toast to honour the life of Captain Steve Rogers.” 

They all stood for the last toast, raising their glasses high in the air. Well, everyone except Bucky, whom Peter noticed was fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. 

Peter noticed that while everyone else had sat down and quietly started to talk amongst themselves again, Tony, while sitting, still had his wine glass in his hand, shaking slightly as he gripped the glass. His Spider-Sense picking up on it even more than before, he knew the important speeches, actually honouring their friends that had died, had taken a lot out of Tony and brought him a lot of anxiety. Bringing up so much emotion from the past only added to the matter, causing Tony to be on the verge of a breakdown, much like Peter had been an hour before. Figuring that a grounding touch, like the one Tony used on him to help bring him back from the hysteria of his panic attacks, he reached out and placed his hand on Tony’s arm, trying to provide a comfort he knew words couldn’t. Tony slowly relaxed his grip and released his wine glass, releasing a breath he had been holding as he did so. He turned his head toward Peter and gave him a small, grateful smile, which Peter could see was reflected in his eyes along with something else. _Pride?_ Nonetheless, it seemed to bring him a new strength, an extra boost he needed to finish off the memorial service. 

Addressing everyone for the final time that evening, he brought up the items representing each fallen avenger in front of their empty chairs. 

“If you’ll all follow me,” he began, looking stronger than a minute ago, “We’ll bring down the items we carefully picked up to remember our friends. Vision’s cape, so graciously given to us by Wanda, a picture of Natasha lovingly drawn by Clint’s children, and Steve’s acceptance letter into the military, honourably provided by Sergeant Barnes. Each item picked to resemble who they were at their core and to represent all they accomplished in their life.” 

With his explanation finished, everyone got up and made their way to the waterfront, where each item was going to be nestled in a flower wreath and floated out onto the lake. Peter was near the front of the group, so he saw as Tony took Steve’s item, which Bucky had let Tony do the honours of placing, and put it in the wreath, repeating the process for Vision’s cape and Nat’s drawing as both Wanda and Clint handed him the items. As they stepped back, Peter could see that Wanda was visibly shaking and her shoulders were pulled tight against her frame. Clint noticed this too, as he wrapped an arm around her and leaned his head against her’s, offering all the comfort that he could in the moment. As he watched from a distance, wetness pooling in the corners of his eyes, Peter saw Clint’s wife step forward to join them, threading her arm around her husband’s waist and rubbing her hand soothingly over Wanda’s back to support both of them. Their kids followed suit, the two eldest children stopping beside their mother while the youngest, who Peter knew from the guest list as Nathaniel Pietro, enveloped Wanda in a tight hug. With his attention focused on the group in front of him, Peter barely noticed the bodies that were passing by on either side until he felt a light poke in his leg, looking down to see Morgan’s large chocolate eyes. She had Pepper’s hand firmly clasped in her left but was extending her right hand towards him. The gesture broke through Peter’s sadness and he smiled down at her fingers, sniffling wetly as he gripped them in his own and allowed himself to be guided forward. They all gathered around as Tony gently placed the wreath in the water and gave it a push, sending the items and their final farewells to the friends they had lost in battle. Their final farewells to the people who had given up everything so they could have each other.

\--

Looking for Tony once again, Peter finally found him staring out over the lake. After they had all paid their respects, Tony had offered everyone the chance to stick around and enjoy some refreshments if anyone wanted. Peter saw the shock on his face when basically everyone stayed, aside from the Guardians who apologized, saying they had to go and get things ready before venturing back into space. 

He continued to walk down towards the lake and slowly approached Tony, so as to not scare him. 

“Hey Mr. Stark” he said casually as he walked up to Tony. He wanted to try and figure out what was on his mind without him figuring out what he was doing. 

“Hey kid,” he replied back, not taking his eyes off of the water. 

“What are you thinking about?” he hoped that Tony wouldn’t take it as him trying to nose his way into his business. 

His question was met with silence. It didn’t even seem like Tony had heard him, all his attention focused on a point across the lake. Figuring Tony wasn’t in a talking mood, he turned to leave when he finally spoke up.

“Just, you know, everything that happened on the battlefield,” he replied softly.

Peter understood where he was coming from and why it was so hard to say. It was difficult to not have the scene of Steve holding the gauntlet and then snapping at the forefront of their memories after everything they had brought up in the memorial speech. He personally swore he could still see the glow of the stones and their jagged bolts of energy as he used them, a picture that was seemingly burned into his mind.

“Me too… I don’t know what the Avengers are going to do without him,” he thought out loud, his gaze following Tony’s over the lake. “But at least they still have you sir.” 

Not expecting to get a response from him, he was shocked when Tony seemed to consider something for a moment and then turned to face him. A mischievous glint lit up his eyes.

“Well, about that…” he stared mysteriously, a newfound energy seeming to enter his body. Peter eyed him warily. _What was he up to?_

“I never imagined that I would be here, talking to you, after Thanos snapped his fingers that day.” he started, turning to face Peter, where he could now see that he had his glasses on his face, the same ones he had taken back from Peter earlier. Sadness was also lining his features, the words he was about to say clearly bringing him distress.

“I had accepted that the world would forever be marked with Thanos’ touch. But one day, we got a second chance, newfound hope, which was a feeling I had long since given up on.”

Peter saw his face shift, the spark that he had seen on Tony’s face in the bathroom reappearing once again.

“But I can see now that the world is ready for something different, a force that us old geysers can no longer provide. We did whatever it took and we came out as much on top as we could. It’s time for a change though and I think that this is a good place to step back. Let the youngsters take the reins- obviously with monitoring from afar, I know how you kids can get.”

Peter had no idea what he was talking about. _Is he drunk?_ Tony barely drank anymore and had only taken a few sips of wine to accompany the toasts he had given at dinner. Not a likely scenario to get drunk, but it was the only logical conclusion Peter’s brain could come up with to explain the way Tony was acting. 

Seeing Peter’s concerned stare he added, “Basically, to wrap it up nicely, I’m retiring. Effective immediately.”

“Retiring?!” he all but shrieked. The news came at him like a bombshell. “Does anyone else know? What are people supposed to do with no Iron Man and no Captain America?”

“You’re the first person I've told so far, but don’t worry! They’ll have you,” he stated it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

“Me?!” he spluttered, thoroughly shocked for the second time in thirty seconds. “But, sir, I’m- I’m just your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man! I’m no Iron Man!” 

“Well not yet you’re not,” he responded as if it was obvious. Reaching his hand up, he removed his glasses from his face and extended them to Peter.

“Uh, your glasses?” he half stated half asked, not getting what Tony’s glasses had to do with the situation. 

Tony rolled his eyes. “These are yours now kid. A little something from me to you,” he explained, waving the glasses in front of Peter’s face. 

Instead of taking them right away he just stared in awe, his mind spinning wildly at Tony’s gesture. _He’s giving these to me?_

Smirking softly at Peter’s dumbfounded stare, Tony continued. “Just put them on, say ‘Hello EDITH’ and they’re good to go.”

Taking the glasses from his outstretched hand, he hesitated, staring at the blue tinted lenses in his hand.

“Mr. Stark I’m not so sure about this. I can’t be Iron Man! You’re Iron Man! The world needs you, not me.”

“I have no doubt whatsoever in this choice, kid. I’ve honestly never been so sure about something in my life. I promise you, you’re more ready than you think. And, you know, I’ll always be here if you need some guidance from your amazing mentor.” 

He was trying to lift Peter’s mood, but it wasn’t working. He only had one thing on his mind. 

“You saved my life when I was younger you know,” Peter stated softly. He honestly didn’t know where the sudden resurgence of the memory had come from, but it felt like something he needed to share. 

“What are you talking about?” Tony asked, confused, but that didn't come as a shock. It was just about the only thing in his current situation that didn't surprise him. The memory he was referring to, one which had taken place years before his official meeting with Tony, probably wasn't something that would have mattered all that much to him. Not like it had to Peter.

“In late spring, 2010," he replied, smiling at the memory before continuing. "I was 8, almost 9 though, but man- it feels like it was just the other day. Ben had taken me to the Stark expo that night, it was something I had been begging him to do for weeks. Well, he finally agreed to take me and I was so excited. I even had this Iron Man mask with matching hand repulsors that I refused to take off.” 

“The expo was awesome, I was loving every minute of it and then War Machine came on stage and I was _beyond_ excited. I could hardly believe my luck until all of a sudden you flew on stage too. Ben had to cover my mouth because I started screaming so loud. _My hero_ was right there, right in front of me. But the excitement didn’t last long, y’know how it went, those robots started attacking and all the people screamed and scattered everywhere. Somehow we managed to get outside, and I noticed that a lone robot was coming at us. Ripping myself from Ben to go stop it, I came face to face with this thing and I wasn’t even scared you know? I just had this feeling that everything would work out, and just as this thing was probably about to smoke me, you appeared out of nowhere and shot it down, BAM! And do you know what you said? ‘Nice work kid’. You let me believe that I was the one to stop the robot and it made my _year. The_ Tony Stark, Iron Man, had told me I had done good. It was something I reminded Ben and May of everyday. _This_ is what you mean to people sir. You don’t just protect them, you _inspire_ them. You make them believe that they can be something better than they are. And that- that’s not me. Me- I can try to protect them, but that’s the best I’ve got. You see what I mean?” 

Finishing his story, he glanced up at Tony and noticed the awestruck look on his face, a look that morphed into open and unshielded pride. A _fatherly_ look. One that Peter had always hoped to see, but was confused at the timing. 

“No, you see what _I_ mean?” he said, his voice cracking. “You’ve been acting the part even before I knew you kid. No one else has a more true heart to be the next Iron Man than you. Hell, you might even be more worthy of the title than me.” 

That was not the response Peter had expected, but he couldn't help but be persuaded ever so slightly by the conviction behind Tony’s words. “You really think so?”

“I know so,” he confirmed, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently shaking him to emphasize his point. “Now, put on the glasses before I decide to take them back. Remember to say Hello…” 

He suddenly trailed off, looking stricken. 

“EDITH right?” he asked, not fully understanding why Tony looked so horrified.

Not getting a response he decided to push further. “Is that another acronym?”

Snapping out of his panic-stricken gaze, he responded to the question with an answer that baffled Peter even more.

“Uh, that’s classified,” he replied quickly.

“Classified? I thought these were my glasses Mr. Stark? How am I supposed to use them if I’m not allowed to know about them?”

“You know what? I don’t like your attitude, give ‘em back.”

“What?! No, I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to overstep!” he apologized, but Tony didn’t budge. Instead he just continued to stare at him, motioning with his hand for Peter to hand them over to him.

“Fine,” he muttered dejected, handing the glasses back to him. After the big speech Tony had given hyping him up, he was hurt that he was deciding to take them back. _Did he not mean what he said?_

Tony gave him an unreadable look before finally giving in. “Fine, you can keep the glasses, but I have to change something first.”

And with that, he walked away.

 _What the hell…?_ Sometimes Tony really confused him. What he thought was a gesture of passing down the mantle had now turned into a confusing mess. Figuring there was nothing else to do but join the rest of the guests, he wandered back to where everyone was still chatting, scratching the back of his head as he tried to process what just happened. 

“Lost?” someone asked as he walked by. Turning his head in the direction of the voice, he realized it was the lady who he had gotten out of the car with Thor. _Valkyrie._

“Hey!” he exclaimed, excited at the chance to get to talk to her as he now realized she had also been the one to give him a ride mid-battle. “You’re the one with the flying horse! You were totally awesome in the battle by the way. It was so cool riding with you! Well, until we were thrown out of the sky that is”

She chuckled. “My name’s Brunnhilde. And you weren’t so bad yourself kid, what’s your name?”

He was so excited that she had complimented his fighting skills that he almost didn’t realize she had asked him a question. “Oh, I’m, uh, Peter. Peter Parker.” he replied once his brain had caught up with him. 

“Well, nice to properly meet you Peter.” 

Wanting to know more about her, he decided to ask about her name. 

“Why do people call you Valkyrie if your real name is Brunnhilde?”

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

“Let’s just say that there were some horrors in my past that I wanted to run away from. I started a new life, picked up a new identity, and didn’t look back until recently.”

Looking down for a moment, she seemed to need to gather her courage before she spoke again. “I want to grow into the person I was before though, and I thought going back to my birth name would be a good start.” 

Peter could see the pain behind her words, the fear and anxiety her past brought being picked up by his Spider-sense. His instinct was to reach out and offer her a hug, something his Aunt May always insisted on doing when she saw he was upset or in a bad mood, but he brushed the thought aside. For one, he barely knew Bruunhilde and two, she would probably punch him if he tried anything that like. He got the feeling she wasn’t exactly the touchy-feely type. He resorted to sharing his own experiences with her instead. 

“I get that. Sometimes it's nice to be someone else for a bit. I have the same experience with my secret identity. When I’m wearing the mask, I’m Spider-Man. It’s like Peter Parker doesn’t even exist, but then I take it off and I’m him again but this time it’s like Spider-Man doesn’t exist. It helps keep my life in good balance to be able to shift from each identity depending on who I want to be at the moment.”

“You know you’re pretty wise for someone so young. I like your spirit, kid. Never change.”

Flattered that she had found common ground in his experience, he was happy that he could relate to her in some way, make her feel not so alone in the world. 

“Hey, you, Valkyrie,” came Tony’s voice from behind them, intruding on the conversation they had been having. “You better not be giving him any ideas over here, I’ve had enough stress with him riding flying horses already.”

He didn’t know what overcame him at that moment, but before his brain could even register what he was about to say out loud, he blurted, “Yeah, well that’s just because you’re an old man and you’re worried your heart might give out!”

As soon as he said it he wished he hadn’t, but fortunately Tony didn’t seem mad at all, in fact he only looked surprised that Peter had made the comment.

“Wow kid, I did not expect that from you. Harley definitely, but _you_?.. I actually don’t have a response to that!” he said in amazement. 

Brunnhilde just smirked and said, “I’ll leave you two alone. Nice chatting with you Peter,” before walking away. 

Wanting to take the attention off of the inadvertent joke he had just made, he motioned to the glasses in Tony’s hands. 

“So, can I have the glasses back now?”

“What? Oh right, take ‘em,” he responded, still chuckling, as he handed them back to Peter, then with one last glance walked away.

Wondering what he did to them, he quickly put them on his face. Since Tony hadn’t ever told him to say anything new, he assumed that he should still activate the glasses with the original code Tony had given to him. 

Speaking to the glasses for the first time, he managed an awkward, “Uh, Hello EDITH,” as he wasn’t really sure how to talk to a piece of eyewear. 

“Hello, Peter,” it responded in a deep voice.

“Oh. I thought for sure that Edith was a girl’s name,” he stated uncomfortably, the deep male voice throwing him off guard.

“I am not EDITH. My name and gender were programmed by Tony Stark five minutes and thirty three seconds ago.”

So Tony was keeping something from him! He had gone so far as changing the name of the AI that came with the glasses to keep it hidden, but why?

“Uh, ok. So what did EDITH stand for?” 

“That information has been classified by Mr. Stark.” 

He blew out a puff of air. It hadn’t hurt to try. Although, maybe he could pry it from the machine. 

“I thought we were supposed to be friends, AI dude,” he said, trying to guilt the machine into telling him. “We’re going to have a rough time if we start this relationship off with secrets, you know. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘A house built on lies has a weak foundation’? I thought you were supposed to be the smart guy here.”

“And I thought I was going to be given to someone that had hit puberty, but here we both are,” the AI responded coolly. 

_Ouch, not trying that again._

“Oh so you think you’re funny? What can you tell me then? Am I at least allowed to know what _your_ name means?” he grumbled, annoyed that the AI had clapped back at him so easily. 

“My name stands for Better Even Now.”

 _Better Even Now?_ he snorted. That was a pretty weak acronym coming from the king of acronyms himself. Why would Tony choose such a weird meaning for the name? 

Trying to work out what it spelled in his head, he came to the heart wrenching conclusion at the same time as the AI spoke.

“But you can call me-”

“BEN,” he finished in a whisper. 

Tony had taken the conversation about Uncle Ben to heart and he had fashioned him an AI after him. He had done the impossible and given Peter a piece of his uncle back, even if it was only his name to remember him by. 

Astounded by the kind gesture, he was still trying to process what it all meant when BEN suddenly picked up on something in the distance, bringing it to Peter’s attention. BEN zoomed the camera in, revealing someone who was off to the side of the property, sitting on a marble bench by the lake. Bringing the person’s face up in a box, the AI displayed their name beneath it for Peter to see.

**_Sergeant James Barnes_ **

Peter figured that he needed some space from everyone else and so had wandered off to get the alone time he wanted. Everyone knew he was taking Steve’s death exceptionally hard. He thought back to how uncomfortable he had looked when Tony was talking about Steve during his speech, and decided that he should go check up on him like he had with Tony earlier, not wanting him to feel like he was all alone in this. At least, he knew that’s what his Uncle Ben would have done and would have wanted him to do. _Another reason why Tony named the AI Ben. To remind me to be the better person like I told him Uncle Ben had always been._

His uncle in mind, he took a few tentative steps towards the lonely soldier, determined to try and help him in a time of grief. As he made his way over to where Bucky was sitting, he swore he could feel the presence of his uncle grow as he walked. It was this that let him know that he was doing the right thing. 

That he was going where he needed to be.


	18. Bucky's Section - Brooklyn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Bucky! His section is only one chapter so the next posting will be Valkyrie. She's our final section!

That _jerk_ . That selfish, traitorous, so called friend of a person. _How did my life get to this?_

Bucky’s mind was racing from his position on the bench, away from the noise of the gathering happening across Stark’s yard. Everyone was having as good a time as they could under the circumstances, sharing stories of the people they all loved and taking the time to catch up in the brief moment they were actually all together. Bucky, however, was not having a good time. Crowds were something he disliked with a burning fury and the reason why they were here didn’t do him any favours. 

Steve, his brother since practically forever, had left him all because of some stupid drive to do what he felt was right. They had just gotten back together when he snapped, leaving Bucky all alone in a world that didn’t want him. He felt lost. He didn’t belong here; he had no place in a world where he had left nothing but destruction for so many years. He didn’t even know how to reacquaint himself with a life outside of the Winter Soldier. It had been a part of who he was for so many years, he didn’t even know how much of ‘Bucky’ there was left inside him to go back to.

_What the fuck am I supposed to do now Steve?_

Looking over at the Avenger’s talking in the distance, he wished he had never agreed to come. It was all too much to deal with. Losing Steve had brought more pain for Bucky than he could have ever imagined and being around everyone, hearing Stark give his speech, was doing nothing but rubbing salt into the very fresh wound. 

The reminder of the speeches Stark had given caused hot anger to bubble up inside of Bucky. Stark had approached him the day after Steve’s snap, asking if Bucky would be able to find a copy of Steve’s army application to use during the wake. Bucky had said he could get it, finding it easier than protesting, but that didn’t stop every inch of his being from screaming out that this was all wrong. They shouldn’t be doing this. Steve should be here with the rest of them, celebrating their win against Thanos, but he wasn’t. 

Steve was… gone, and there was no changing that. 

Getting the paper hadn’t been hard; Steve had kept a copy hidden in a box in his apartment. All Bucky had to do was go back there and get it. He never expected a paper could make him so mad until now; retrieving it had sparked a dark and building rage inside that had only continued to grow throughout the wake. That application was what had started it all. If that stupid German doctor hadn’t gotten it approved, Steve never would have made it to the army. He never would have become Captain America and then maybe he would have been alive now instead of having sacrificed his life to save some intergalactic lunatic from tearing the universe apart. 

His anger didn’t stop there either. He was angry at Stark for even bringing it up. Couldn’t anyone ever just leave things alone? And why make it the defining staple of who Steve was? He was so much more than what came out of the army and no one but Bucky appreciated that. He had known the real Steve Rogers, the scrawny kid from Brooklyn that got beat up in alleys trying to do what he thought was right, but all anyone else ever cared about was the man they claimed as their hero, decked out in stars and stripes. The man they called Captain America. 

He sighed, shifting to sit back on the bench while angling his head to look up at the sky. That was a common theme with Steve; his internal drive to always do the right thing. It had always annoyed Bucky, especially in school, when Steve wouldn’t let him copy his homework that he had forgotten to do. 

_“Come on Steve! Just this one time. Please?”_

_Steve gave Bucky a knowing look. “You always say ‘just this one time’ Buck. And my answer is still no. How are you going to learn anything if I just let you copy all of my answers?”_

_Bucky clicked his tongue and turned to look at the streets of Brooklyn all around him. It was early as both he and Steve made their way to school, but the streets were still packed. Everyone was rushing around them to get to work, elbows knocking into Bucky from all sides as he pushed on through the crowd. Steve was following close behind, gripping his book bag tight to his chest and letting the larger form of his friend shield him from the oncoming traffic._

_Looking back at Steve, Bucky gave him a good-natured smile. “Come on Steve, you know me better than that. You know I don’t care for school. I’m just gonna join the army when I’m older.”_

_“Yeah, I know, but your education is still important,” Steve persisted, “Besides, you gotta have a backup if that army plan doesn’t pan out. Why not try on politics for size, might actually put some of those big opinions of yours to use?”_

_“Hmm, I could get used to all those expensive suits, but nah. Leave that to the brainiacs of the world like you. I’ll just have to make the world more honest by taking the Commies outta it.”_

_They walked in silence for a few minutes before Steve spoke again, his voice quieter, more guarded, this time._

_“You know, I’ve been doing some thinking lately-”_

_“Well that’s never a good sign,” Bucky hummed, spinning around to face Steve while still keeping his forward momentum through the crowd._

_Steve shot him an annoyed look, but smiled._

_“Oh, shut up. As I was saying, I’ve put a lot of thought into this, and I’ve decided that_ **_I_ ** _want to join the army.”_

_Bucky stopped dead in his tracks, shooting Steve with an incredulous look._

_“You? Join the army? I thought you wanted to be a doctor, or one of those artsy types who goes around drawing shoes for catalogues.”_

_“Yeah, I do. Or I did. I don't know anymore Buck. My dad died fighting for this country and I’ve always thought it was my duty to follow in his footsteps. Now might be the time.”_

_“But you’re so-”_

_“Small? Weak? Trust me, I realize that.”_

_While he hadn’t wanted to say it, that had been the exact words on Bucky’s mind. What Steve lacked in muscles he made up for in crippling health issues, twofold even. War would chew him up and not even have the decency to spit him back out. He didn’t want to hurt Steve’s feelings, however, as he knew how much Steve idolized his dad, so he chose to remain silent._

_They continued walking again in thought-filled silence until Steve added, “I could still beat your sorry behind any day of the week though.”_

_“Oh really? You're on, tough guy. Let’s go a few rounds and see who lands on top.”_

He could still hear Steve’s laughter echoing in his ears. That had been when the trouble really started. From that day on, Steve had begun to voice his interest in joining the army. Bucky had known, even as young as they were at sixteen, that if Steve had joined the war, he would not have made it out alive. No matter what Bucky did to protect him, he knew that danger would have found him, come at him from all sides, and when it did, Steve wouldn’t have stood down. It was never in his nature to run when things got tough, which was the worst trait a little guy from Brooklyn could have.

Why couldn’t he have just stayed behind and collected scrap metal like Bucky had suggested, kept himself safe so that Bucky could return home to him?

But Bucky knew the answer. It was the thing Steve had always responded with when Bucky voiced his concerns: _My dad died fighting for this country and I’ve always thought it was my duty to follow in his footsteps._

 _Followed a bit too far,_ he thought darkly. Steve was never supposed to die in war, but here they were. Mourning his loss, along with Natasha and Vision. 

_Don’t do anything stupid! It’s the one thing I asked,_ _and what did he do? Something goddamn stupid._

A champagne bottle being popped open in the distance and a peel of laughter from the surrounding guests broke him out of his reprieve. It reminded him how badly he wished he could have gotten drunk before coming, but it was a moot point. He had tried to, failing every time, once he had broken free of his Winter Soldier programming. He had tried everything, drinking enough to kill a normal person ten times over, but nothing worked. 

That hadn’t stopped him from trying, however, during the dinner. He had downed copious glasses of wine, earning himself many concerned stairs from the people he was sitting next to, Sam most of all, yet he hadn’t felt so much as buzzed, let alone wasted. It wasn’t fair. If he had to sit through the torture of this dinner, couldn’t he at least enjoy the effects of alcohol to dampen the blow?

Stuck in his cycle of hatred, he didn’t notice someone approaching until it was too late. Snapping his head up to look, he saw that kid who talked too much from Germany tentatively walking over, a nervous look on his face. Great, just when he thought no one was going to bother him. _You don’t want any part of this, kid. Trust me._

Sending the most scathing glare he could muster in the hopes that the kid would leave him alone, he was disappointed to find that it didn’t work. Instead, he kept approaching, a stupid pair of glasses Bucky had never seen him wear displayed proudly on his face. 

“Uh, Mr. Barnes? S-sorry to bother you, but I noticed you were sitting here all alone and I was just wondering if you were okay? I know how much Steve meant to you-” 

While Bucky knew the kid meant well, the mention of Steve pushed him over the edge. No one could leave him well alone. They all just had to keep bringing the subject up, rubbing it in his face when what they should be doing is getting far away. 

“What do you know?” he exploded, causing the kid to cower in what looked like fear and surprise. 

“You’re just some stupid teenager trying to play dress-up. Don’t try and tell me you know what loss is. I bet your parents are waiting for you to come home; so why don’t you go saddle up with your happy family-”

“That’s enough!” a new voice barked, stealing Bucky from the rage he had gotten himself stuck in. Chest heaving, he finally noticed the stricken face gazing at him in horror. The kid’s mouth was hanging open slightly and his face had lost all colour. 

Looking past him, Bucky found the source of the voice. Stark was marching across the yard, fury lining his face. He caught up to where Bucky was sitting quickly and immediately turned to the kid, placing himself between them. 

“Hey, Pete, don’t mind him. He’s always in a bad mood. Why don’t you go over and play with Morgan? I’ll come and talk with you after, okay?” 

The soft way in which Stark spoke caused a pang of regret to strike Bucky. He had just yelled at a _kid._ He saw Peter nod mutely before walking away, head hanging low, and back hunched in a dejected way, as he made his way over to the crowd. As soon as he was out of earshot, Stark reeled around at Bucky, his eyes bright with rage. 

“What is _wrong_ with you? I know they call you the Winter Soldier, but I didn’t realize you took that title to heart. He’s just a _kid_ and he was only trying to help. Oh, and what you said about his parents? Yeah, he has none. Died when he was young. Lost his uncle a couple years back as well, so good job there Jack Frost. Way to traumatize the kid.”

While Bucky felt bad, the anger burning within him ran deep, leaving no room for sympathy. 

“Yeah? Well, no one asked him to come talk to me. I sure as hell didn’t need the brat-”

He was effectively cut off by Stark grabbing the front of his suit with both hands, hauling him off of the bench where he hovered awkwardly in mid air. 

“Listen, pal. That is _my kid_ you are talking about, so I would choose your next words _very carefully._ ”

He released Bucky and sent him crashing back onto the bench, his tailbone hitting the hard marble sending a shooting pain up his spine. _Point taken._

“Right, sorry.” 

Staring at him for a few seconds more, most likely deciding if he was going to push the matter further, Stark appeared to drop it. His posture relaxed and the fire died down a bit, but Bucky could see the fizzling anger below the surface. 

The silence only grew between them, causing Bucky to shift uncomfortably. He hadn't been alone with Stark since he was trying to kill him all those years ago after finding out what happened to his parents. _What I did to his parents._

Finally, Stark broke the silence, although it was in a way furthest from what Bucky wanted to hear in that moment. 

“I understand what you’re going through-”

“Don’t. Please, stop. I don’t want to hear a single word of condolence from anyone else today, or ever for that matter.”

Stark continued like Bucky hadn’t even spoken.

“Steve meant a lot to me as well. I know I never came close to the friendship the both of you had, but he was one of my closest friends, despite our differences, and I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Bucky was about to interject, tell him it was fine so he would finally be left alone, but Stark cut him off before he could even start.

“No, I’m not done. What happened in Siberia-”

“Stark-”

“No! I need to get this off my chest. I’ll be honest, I was furious when I found out. Not only had I just been told my parents were murdered by the Winter Soldier,” Bucky winced, “but I had also found out that someone I trusted, someone I thought I knew, had kept the truth from me. And I held onto that anger for years. But one day, I realized that I didn’t want that resentment to be a part of who I was anymore. With the help of my family, I realized that the man that stands in front of me now, he's no killer. You and the Winter Soldier are not the same person and I see that clearly now. So, I’m sorry I tried to kill you that day. I overreacted. I just saw my mom and everything went red. As for Steve, he was just trying to do what he thought was right: Protecting his friends, and I can't fault him for that.”

The mention of Steve and Siberia brought an onslaught of memories during their time as fugitives to Bucky’s mind. The way Steve had told him they had done the right thing, that he would never leave Bucky behind. It caused a cold numbness to rise in him, making it seem like he was frozen on the spot. 

Steve had done the exact opposite of what he had promised. He had left him behind and he was never coming back. 

To his horror, he felt hot tears burn behind his eyes and he quickly looked away. Stark couldn’t see him this way. He wasn’t ready to show vulnerability to anyone anytime soon. 

As soon as he had recovered, the meaning of Stark’s words sunk in. It was actually good to hear them. Things had been awkward ever since that day in the HYDRA Syberian facility. But now, it felt like the tension had eased, leaving a more comfortable feeling between them. Bucky was ready to leave all of that behind as well. He couldn’t fault him for trying to kill him after everything he had done. 

“I appreciate the gesture Stark, and I forgive you, but,” Bucky let out a shaky breath, “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I did all of those things; I remember it all.”

Stark looked at him sadly. “If there's one thing I know, it’s that forgiving yourself can be the hardest thing to do. But it's something that needs to be done because at the end of the day, this is our life and if we spent it hating who we are, we can never truly live it. You deserve to be happy James. You deserve to be able to move on. And please, call me Tony.” 

Conflicting emotions were pulling his mind in every direction. He wasn’t good with handling this type of stuff, so he didn’t know the proper way to respond. He settled for a weak smile instead, showing S- Tony that he appreciated what he was saying without giving too much away. 

Tony nodded, seemingly satisfied that they had settled a matter that was a long time coming and turned to look back at the group of Avengers talking by the lake. 

“I’m sorry for all of this by the way,” he said, gesturing to everything that was going on. 

“I can’t imagine the pain of losing someone so close to you and having to share it with so many others. I know they’re basically strangers to you, so it can’t be easy.”

“He was your friend too, Tony. He cared about all of you. It’s part of the job when it comes to being friends with Steve; that guy could make as many friends as he could enemies.”

Tony laughed. “That he could.” 

A call for Tony suddenly rang across the lawn.

“Well, that’s my cue to get back over there. Take care of yourself, Tin Man. And if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.” With that, he turned and walked back to join the others. 

Bucky turned his gaze back on the lake, watching the waves lap lazily at the water’s edge and felt more relaxed himself. Though he was more content after his talk with Tony, he was also happy to be alone again. He needed the time to be with his thoughts, to let the rest of the party pass so he could move on and forget. 

Unfortunately for him, people had other ideas.

“How’s it going over here?” Sam asked, sitting down next to him, not even waiting for an invitation.

“Get out of here Sam, I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“Well I, for one, am totally in the mood to talk, so this is going to work out nicely.”

Bucky shot him an annoyed glare and resorted to giving him the silent treatment.

“How have you been feeling?”

Bucky didn’t respond.

“Have you been sleeping? Eating properly?”

Bucky’s scowl only deepened in response. 

“Alright, fine. I have all day.” They sat in silence for a moment before Sam spoke again.

“Did you drink before coming here?”

Bucky threw his head back and let out a long groan. Why did people insist on trying to figure out his psyche, Sam in particular? Sometimes the man’s background as a counselor really got on his nerves.

“Okay, okay. I get it. You don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine, I can talk about something else. What about your family?”

The obscure question broke him out of his vow of silence. “What about my family?”

“What were they like?”

Bucky hadn’t thought about them in so long. He had to take a moment to recall his childhood before he gave a tentative response.

“They… weren’t around much. Dad was in the military, so he was always gone and mom had to work two jobs to support us, so she wasn’t around much either. I guess it was mainly just me and Steve. I used to go over to his place a lot.”

Sam nodded, clearly happy that he had gotten Bucky talking.

“Then dad died. Not from the war, but from his drinking. He used to stumble home from the bars, drunk as a skunk, in the early hours of the morning. Well, one day he didn’t. His body washed up on the shore of the Hudson two weeks later. Apparently he had fallen in while coming across the bridge one night. Mom was never the same after that. She died only a few years later, but I was 18 by then so it was okay. Plus I had Steve and his mom to keep my company.”

Sam gave him a sad look, pity reflecting in his eyes. Bucky, uncomfortable with the attention and looked away, hoping Sam would move on. He didn’t dwell too much on his own family. He had always felt like he was a part of Steve’s which made up for anything happening at home. Thankfully, Sam decided to change the subject.

“What did you like to do as a kid? What were your favourite things in Brooklyn? I can’t imagine what growing up in a big city like that was like. I lived in a town with just over 1000 people, so not much excitement there for me. Well, until I joined the military that is.”

“It was okay I guess.” He didn’t know what else to say. Sharing his emotions wasn’t something he did. But Sam continued to look on, hopeful, so he decided to push forward, digging a little deeper into his life. 

“Me and Steve usually found some kind of trouble to get into. One of our favourite pastimes was taking our bikes up to the Brooklyn bridge. We’d play “spot the outsider”, looking for anyone that was clearly there on vacation. They weren’t hard to find; a true New Yorker has a more hardened exterior, used to the ways of the city. These tourists always had a frilly look to them. Much too clean and put together.”

Sam laughed. “What would you do once you spotted them?”

Bucky surprised himself with a laugh that escaped his own chest. “We’d go up to them and tell them all these crazy things about New York etiquette. I think I once went up to a woman and told her she should spin in a circle before she got on the subway. Something about it being good luck and if she didn’t do it people would be mad. She totally bought it, thanked me for letting her know and continued on her way. Steve and I just about died laughing…” The joy quickly faded and the sadness came crashing back in. 

Sam’s smile faded as well, taking in Bucky’s suddenly somber demeanor. 

“I think we should talk about it.”

“Talk about what?”

“Steve’s death.”

Bucky shuddered, the finality of that word sending chills down his spine. It immediately changed the mood, making everything so much more real. It was definitely something Bucky was not ready for. 

“Nope. I do not wanna get into that.”

Sam frowned disapprovingly. “It’s clear you need to talk about it. Bottling up your emotions isn’t going to solve any of your problems. I’m trying to help a friend in need here. It’s okay to feel sad, or angry, or hurt you know. Steve was a big part of who you are, it’s only natural to feel that way. But you won’t get anywhere unless you talk about it. And I’m here to listen, whenever you’re ready.” 

Bucky didn’t say anything at first, battling with himself about what he wanted to do. 

Sam must have figured Bucky wasn’t going to say anything, because he stood up to leave.

“I’ll just leave you to your thoughts and stop bothering you. I can see you want to be alone.” 

Turning to walk away, Bucky knew that Sam was right.

“Wait! You’re right. I need to talk about it.”

Turning back to face him, an understanding smile on his face, Sam sat back down, ready to listen. 

Just admitting that he needed to talk caused a wave of emotion to crash over him. He didn’t like to admit these things, especially because talking about it made it all so much more real. But Steve was… dead and he had to accept that.

Letting out a big breath of air, he fixed his eyes on some trees in the distance and started talking. 

“I guess... I guess I’m afraid. Afraid of who I might become now that Steve is…” he trailed off, not wanting to admit the words out loud. Just when he thought he didn’t have the strength to do this, he felt Sam place a comforting hand on his shoulder, grounding him in a gesture that said _I’m here._ Keeping his eyes focused on the trees swaying in the breeze, not able to look Sam in the eyes as he spoke, he continued. 

“Steve is the one that made me Bucky. Before him I was just James Buchanan Barnes, some kid with no good friends and a shitty home life. But once we became friends, I found a new purpose. Steve was always by my side, and me by his. We grew up together, always having each other's six. He was the one to break me free of my Winter Soldier programming. I should have been a shell of a man; I was turned into a weapon, a destroying machine that hurt countless numbers of people, but Steve reminded me of who I was. He made me Bucky again and I’m so damn scared, Sam, that with him gone, I’ll turn back into that soulless monster they turned me into. How can I be anything good without him? He was the only constant in my life and without him, I don’t know who I am. I’m better off alone somewhere, away from anyone else I can hurt.”

He looked over at where Peter was standing with Tony in the distance. He had only snapped at the kid before in fear that if anyone got too close, he’d turn back into the monster. He never wanted to be out of control of his body again. Taking a shaky breath, he noticed he was crying. Quickly wiping his eyes, he felt Sam shift next to him, taking the hand off of his shoulder. Not hearing him say anything, Bucky hesitantly met his eyes and saw that he was wiping his own tears away.

“If I knew this was going to turn into a woman’s reading circle for romance novels I would have brought some tissues,” Bucky joked good naturedly, poking fun at the fact that Sam was such a softie.

Sam just laughed softly before turning somber, compassion filling his eyes.

“I understand your concerns. You have every right to feel that way.”

Bucky’s mind went blank. _What?_

“Wow, okay. I thought we were friends. What, you think I’m going to revert back? That all I am is just some monster?”

Sam just continued to look at him calmly. 

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. What I meant was, you have every right to feel that way, but that doesn’t make it the _truth._ Take my friendship with Steve as an example. While we were never as close as the two of you were, we got to know each other over the years. I was in a dark place before I met Steve. I had dropped out of the army after losing my best friend and I no longer knew my place in the world. Being a soldier was a huge part of who I was. Somehow I had forgotten that. But then Steve came along and gave me back that piece of myself I hadn’t even realized was missing. He became a big part in helping me become the man I am today, but he wasn’t the _only_ part. I was a soldier _before_ I met Steve, a man who had always just wanted to help people. All Steve did was remind me of that. The same goes for you. You were Bucky all along, but Steve only helped you let yourself see that part of you. We will remember the impact Steve made on our lives forever. And it may be hard to start, but eventually you will learn to live with his absence. You will learn to be the man he saw even without him in your life. We never truly lose the ones we love; they are always with us in one way or another. Speaking of which…”

He stood up and reached for something Bucky hadn’t noticed before. Leaning against the back of the bench was a large black bag, circular in shape, with no markings on it. 

Confused, Bucky watched on as Sam picked it up and walked back over to stand in front of him. Silently unzipping the bag, he looked at the contents, still out of Bucky’s view, and smiled.

“A little reminder of who you are,” he said mischievously, before pulling the item out. 

Bucky froze, his heart seeming to stop in his chest. It was Steve’s shield, perfectly intact, unlike the last time Bucky had seen it. 

“What…? How did you get this?”

“Oh you know Steve. Always has a plan for everything.” He didn’t say anything further and Bucky didn’t push the matter, too stunned to really care.

“Uh, so what is it for?”

Sam laughed, sending him a look that said he should know. “It’s for you stupid!”

“Me? Are you sure? I’m not certain it’s a good idea for me to fight anymore and I don’t know if Steve really wants me to have it. You’d be much more suited for it. You’re way more a hero than I am.”

Sam looked at the shield appreciatively before shaking his head. “While I do admit I wish I got the honours, I don’t doubt for a second that Steve wanted you to have it. I know how much Steve looked up to you, how much he cared for you, so I know for a fact that his decision was sound.”

Handing the shield over to him, Bucky cautiously took it in his hands. Taking a second to marvel at its pristine finish, he sat in stunned silence. He had never expected Steve to give him his shield, not after all he had done. 

“I don’t think Steve would have done what he did if he didn’t know that you’d be here after all of this. He must have thought you were worth it too, if he thought that this was his best play.” Sam added when Bucky said nothing, most likely assuming Bucky was going to reject the shield. In truth, Bucky didn’t know _how_ he felt about it. It was all just so much to handle. 

“You know you and him are a lot more alike than you might think. Knowing both of you, I can see that you both share the same core; you both have this drive to look after the little guys of the world.”

Bucky snorted at the irony. He remembered the days all too well where Steve himself had been the little guy getting beat up in every garbage filled alley in Brooklyn.

The mental image of Steve lying in the street, filthy from head to toe and covered in blood, his own blood, from the stuff he had managed to get himself into brought Bucky back to another memory. It was one he has locked away, not wanting to revisit it all that often. It made sense in a way though that it surfaced now; it was the action that he took that had led them where they were today.

Daniel Sousa. The man that Bucky had saved in the Hydra camp back in the Second World War. Once he had been freed, Bucky had sought out any information about his past. Through his countless nights of scouring through documents regarding anything that could be related to him even in the slightest, he had found Daniel. It was his records for his employment to an agency called the SSR. In it were his therapy notes, mandatory for him to get the job, which outlined the horrific events that occurred in that camp. As soon as Bucky had read it he knew it was the same man he had saved that day. The man that lay on the floor, caked in layers of dirt and crusted blood and also missing one of his legs. He had been just as helpless as Steve in those alleyways, just as small, and something had snapped in Bucky. He knew that he had to do something and so he did. No second thoughts because it was the right thing to do. 

Looking back on it now, Bucky wasn’t sure he would make the same decision. That decision, while he had no idea at the time, had changed his life forever. It had been the decision that brought him to Hydra’s attention and consequently led him to being turned into the Winter Soldier. His life had been taken away from him, he had been forced to do unforgivable things, all because he had decided to stand up for one man in need. 

Except it wasn’t that simple. The fact of the matter was that he had no idea what was about to happen to him. All he cared about was saving Daniel because if he didn’t, it would have haunted him for the rest of his life. Just as the Winter Soldier would. At least an innocent man was spared. That was all that mattered. 

As the memory faded away, something nipped at the back of Bucky’s mind. Through his evaluation of the events, he realized that Steve wasn’t there when that had happened. Bucky had made that decision entirely on his own based on what _he_ felt was right. It was instinctual. _Maybe Sam isn’t too crazy after all..._

Sam gave him a knowing look, as if reading his mind, but continued his speech nonetheless. “You may not have been perfect soldiers, but you’re both good men and that’s all that matters.”

“Thanks Sam.”

“Don’t mention it.” Sam turned to leave when he suddenly paused and looked back at Bucky. 

“By the way, I’m totally taking that thing out for a test spin.”

“Yeah, in your dreams maybe.”

He smiled and turned back around, walking a few steps before calling out, “I’m going to get that shield!” 

Bucky just shook his head in amusement, watching Sam rejoin the others. It was this, however, that brought his attention to Peter who was currently talking to Pepper, Morgan standing next to her. Bucky’s super soldier abilities made it easy to hear what they were saying. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but once he started listening it was hard to tune it out.

Suddenly he noticed Tony approaching, a big smile on his face.

“Hey Pep,” he overheard him greet the group. “Did I ever tell you that I love you?”

Before anyone else could respond, Bucky saw Peter’s panicked face as he stammered a reply, to Bucky’s and everyone else’s confusion. 

“Oh, uh, no you haven’t but I- I love you too Mr. Stark.”

Tony turned to Peter, bewilderment on his face. Peter must have realized that Tony hadn’t been addressing him as his face paled considerably before turning bright red.

“Oh my God Mr. Stark I am so sorry. I didn’t mean- I shouldn’t have said-”

Tony wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders “It’s okay Pete. I love you too.”

Peter visibly sighed in relief, sagging under Tony’s touch. 

Reaching out his other arm, Tony pulled Pepper close to him.

“My heart’s big enough for the both of you.”

“What about me?” a higher pitch voice squealed and Bucky watched as Morgan launched herself at him, grappling onto him like a monkey.

Tony laughed and removed his arms from around Peter and Pepper to pick her up and swing her around.

“Yes even you Little Miss! My heart always has room for you.”

Turning away, his heart not being able to take anymore, Bucky felt the hot prickly sensation return to the back of his eyes. Determined not to cry again, he angrily swiped at them and focused on the shield he had leaned next to his leg. In truth, that interaction had really gotten to him. It made him truly happy that Tony had found a family after Bucky, no, the Winter Soldier had taken his original one away. And seeing Peter, someone he now knew to be an orphan like himself, accepted so fully into that family reminded him of being accepted into Steve’s. Bucky was always welcome in the Rogers household. But more than that, he realized that the interaction was a symbol of what Steve had died for. He had given his life so that Peter, Tony, and everyone else could still have theirs. He had given them all a second chance to do things right. Steve had given him that chance too, and not for him to go waste it on hiding and forgetting the world. It was for him to _fight_ for it; for him to be Bucky. 

And that is exactly what he was going to do. 

Staring down at the shield, knowing it symbolized everything Steve stood for, everything Bucky wanted to be, he picked it up and slipped it on. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel wrong. In fact, it felt right. Like he was _meant_ to have it. 

As if a sign from Steve himself, a sudden brushing against this leg startled him from his moment with the shield. Glancing at the ground, he saw a small black cat rubbing its cheeks against his leg, purring loudly. Confused at where she had come from, at least he assumed it was a she, he bent closer to get a better look. She was young, but not a kitten, and had clearly been on the streets for a while. Her black fur was coated with dirt and grime and Bucky could see her spine and ribs sticking out harshly from under her skin. She was definitely a stray.

Reaching down to pet her, she stood up on her hind legs and bopped his face, still purring louder than Bucky had ever heard a cat purr. 

Laughing at her internal motor and friendly demeanour, he watched as she jumped up on the bench next to him, staring at him with her big green eyes. They stood out against the deep black fur of her face. She truly was a cute cat. 

Upset that he wasn’t giving her attention, she made a _brrrr_ noise before walking over and standing on her hind legs again, this time to bop her nose on his. Giving in to her pleading stare, he gave her permission to do what she clearly desperately wanted to do. 

“Oh all right. Come on over here fuzzball.”

Almost immediately, as if she had been waiting for his word, she trotted over and sat in his lap, tucking her paws under her body and rumbling contently, making his legs vibrate with the power of her purrs. 

Slipping his newly acquired shield back off, placing it on the ground to rest against his right leg, he began petting his new furry friend and found that it was very calming. Petting her absentmindedly for a few minutes, he knew he had to keep her. It was like she knew he needed her, just as much as he knew she needed him. They were a pair of misfits and Bucky’s knew they were meant to be together. This was his cat and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. 

Sitting there quietly for a moment, enjoying the peace she provided, he realized that he should give her a name.

“I guess I should name you right, Miss kitty? You are a girl cat, right?”

She gave a little mew in response. _Good enough for me._

Thinking for a moment, staring at the shield as he concentrated, the perfect name suddenly flashed into his mind. 

“How about... Brooklyn?”

She mewed again before snuggling deeper in his lap, quickly falling asleep. 

_Brooklyn it was._

Happy with his new companion, he looked at the shield one last time. 

While it could have been a trick of his eye, Bucky swore the shield glowed a little brighter in the sun as a response. 

Sitting back and petting Brooklyn, Bucky realized that for the first time in days, things truly felt like they were going to be alright. That _he_ was going to be alright, and he had two Brooklyn outcasts to thank for that. 


	19. Valkyrie's Section - The Root Of It All

Earth was strange. Having lived here for just over five years, there were still moments where Valkyrie was baffled by the planet’s customs. 

Walking toward the peak of New Asgard’s highest cliff, she stood tall, gazing out at the horizon. The sun was hanging high above her in the sky, the beams of light reflecting off of the rolling waves in the deep blue ocean, making it sparkle like a newly polished diamond. Eyes roaming over the distant horizon, she found the shore to her right and took in the small town which appeared infinitely smaller from the vantage point. The cozy houses settled into the outline of the water, their streets winding through the landscape with all the people of Asgard wandering through, completing their daily activities. 

The town itself was beautiful though; the vibrant green grass of the rolling hills a stark contrast to the white exterior of the small houses scattered throughout. One thing Valkyrie always thought was a nice touch were the bright orange roofs speckled throughout, adorning only some of the town’s peoples homes. Looking at them now from her place on the cliff, they truly popped against the emerald background of the grass and provided a much needed colour contrast to the more gloomy tones of the dingy exteriors the fishing marina provided. This especially so with its dank and grimy finish from the harsh winters and years of hauling fish and other materials over its surfaces. 

Sighing, Valkyrie put her hands in her front vest pockets and returned her gaze back to the calming effects of the crashing tides of the ocean, each wave seeming to wash over her own mind and bring a clarity she couldn’t seem to find everywhere else. While she loved New Asgard, it was nothing like the life she once knew. Growing up on the real Asgard and then Sakkaar, her life had always been filled with adventure and excitement; a new problem to solve or battle to fight always around the corner. But here, it felt like she was trapped in a never-ending loop. Each day they would all get up and complete the same mundane tasks: take care of the village, unload any shipments for the town, load the fish and other sea life they had gathered to sell, and just generally mill about waiting for the next day to come. 

Even now, after everything that had happened, the people of New Asgard were right back to their normal daily routines. It was really starting to wear her down, every part of her being screaming for her to get back into the life she knew before. The fact that they had just fought such a huge battle didn’t help ease her mind either. It was the opposite really. Ever since they had gotten home from the memorial dinner the previous night her mind seemed to be more fired up than ever, desperately bucking at the bars she had put up to keep it contained and trying to pull her back into the days of being a warrior, a protector: the days where she was truly happy. 

She forcibly pushed the thought from her mind. Not knowing what Thor was going to do next, whether he would return to his drinking or even leave to start a new journey, she knew she still had people to take care of here, people to lead, and she wasn’t going to abandon them to fulfill her selfish desire to play the hero. As long as they needed her, she could never leave.

Needing to change the subject to keep herself sane, the thought of battle brought her mind to a different topic: Tony Stark. While he was a man she didn’t know very well, he had hosted a surprisingly thoughtful dinner for the surviving heroes to enjoy. Valkyrie hadn’t known very many people there, but had been placed at the very end alongside Groot, a woman named May, and Rocket all to her right while a man named Happy and Tony’s daughter, Morgan, were to her left at the end of the table. Directly across from her had been Dr. Strange, his buddy Wong, and Nebula. Other than the Guardians, whom she had brief knowledge of thanks to her light conversation with Thor on the drive over, the rest of the people around her were basically a mystery. Not being one to talk a lot with strangers, she had mainly listened to the happenings around her.

_ “Mr. Strange, my mommy says you can do magic and that’s why that orange sparkly thing came into the backyard. Are you a magician?” she asked, her childhood innocence flooding the question.  _

_ Valkyrie smirked at Morgan not only calling Doctor Strange ‘“Mister” but also calling him a magician in the same sentence. Based on the brief interactions Valkyrie had had with him and the crisply creased folds of the clothing he had chosen to wear to the dinner, he wasn’t one to take titles lightly. She was mistaken though as Strange surprised everyone by smiling softly instead of enacting his authority, nodding his head at her question. _

_ “I suppose you could call me that. Would you like to see some magic?” he offered, showing a softer side of himself that she had not seen before, and apparently the others around her hadn’t either as they stared widely at the wizard with disbelief. It was refreshing to see him in this light, so unlike the commanding and serious tones he usually carried.  _

_ Valkyrie watched as Morgan’s eyes went wide as eagerness swept through her body at the prospect of actually witnessing real ‘magic’. “Yes, please!” _

_ His eyes twinkling, a weird sight to behold as she had never pegged him as someone to be so friendly with kids, he looked over at Wong, an unspoken message passing between them, and together they made two small sparkling portals appear on the table in front of them. No bigger than a dinner plate, they crackled and popped as they hovered a few inches above the table, casting an orange glow on the place settings. Seeing her mesmerized face, even Strange couldn’t help but chuckle.  _

_ “Go on, put your hand through this one,” he said, gesturing to the portal on her left. Hesitantly she moved closer to it, stretching out her arm. Looking at Strange for confirmation that it was okay, he assured her that it was perfectly safe. Nodding her small head in confirmation, she bravely stuck her tiny left fist into the portal, gasping in amazement as it came out of the portal on her right. _

_ “My hand!” she giggled, blown away by what was seemingly real magic to her. Wiggling her fingers a few times, she removed her arm for the portal and sat back in her seat, staring at her hand like she had never seen it before in her life. Closing the portals, both Wong and Strange looked happy with themselves until the woman, who Valkyrie could see was named May from her place card, spoke up.  _

_ “What if that was dangerous?” she questioned, not hiding the accusatory tone in her voice. _

_ Strange just smirked, unfazed by the heat in her words. “I assure you, it was not dangerous in the slightest. I would not put a child in harm’s way for their own amusement.” _

_ Seeing her give Strange a death glare, it was only broken when Rocket spoke up next to her, causing her to jump, rattling the silverware on the table as she smacked her knee into it in the process. _

_ “What’s the matter lady? Never seen a portal before?” he probed, smirking at her reaction.  _

_ While Valkyrie knew that most people on earth had no understanding of the magics space held other than the “moon landing” they were so proud of, Rocket didn’t seem to sympathize with the fact that she was clearly out of her comfort zone. His five years spent on Earth with the few humans that were used to this sort of thing certainly didn’t help the poor woman to his left.  _

_ May outwardly cringed at his voice, her body tensing, before she stiffly turned to face him. _

_ “Yes I’ve seen a portal before!” she responded quickly, “But, unlike you, I don’t live in this super-world; I’m perfectly happy staying out of it, thank you.” Her disdain for the people she was placed next to was obvious.  _

_ “Whatever lady, you do you.” he shrugged, not understanding her issue with the situation. A moment of tense silence went by before a new voice cut in.  _

_ “I am Groot,” the deep voice came from Valkyrie’s right, as Groot decided to join in on the conversation, looking up from his video game for the first time since Valkyrie had sat next to him. _

_ Rocket translated for everyone. “Hey, lady,” he called to May, getting her attention from where she had turned away, seemingly refusing to want to look at the raccoon anymore. “He says you smell nice.”  _

_ Horror struck, she just stared, her face pale, before putting a weak smile on as she turned to face Groot on her left. To Valkyrie it looked like she was scared of him.  _

_ “Um, t-th-” she cleared her throat and started again. “Thank you… Groot.”  _

_ The last part was choked out, like it was painful for her to admit that a tree had a name.  _

_ “I am Groot.” _

_ “He says ‘you’re welcome,’ and y’know, you’re lucky to be paid a compliment by him. Most words that come out his mouth aren’t exactly the flattering kind.”  _

_ With that exchange everyone went back to talking with the other people around them. Happy talking to Strange and Wong, while Rocket began talking to Mantis to his right. Groot went back to playing his video game he had snuck in, leaving just Valkyrie and May not talking to anyone, Morgan still happily staring at her hand. Deciding to watch May, she had to bite her cheeks to stop herself from laughing at the frantic murmuring coming from the woman next to her. _

_“I am going to_ ** _kill_** _that Tony Stark when we’re done here. Talking trees and racoons, portals and wizards, it’s just not_ ** _logical!_** _I don’t belong here! I’m not some crazy person; I’m the only sane one here!” she continued to ramble to herself, frazzled with the whole situation._

Chuckling outwardly as she thought back to the moments at the dinner, she suddenly sobered as she remembered why they had been there in the first place: to honour the ones they had lost. The battle had been a whole different being entirely. When she had first been called to action by Doctor Strange she had been ready, but scared, as her last big battle had been against Hela, backing up Odin’s army as they were being dominated by Hela’s almighty power. It had been one that had ended in great loss for her, leading her to try and destroy all parts of the life she had once known. But the battle against Thanos had woken up a part of her that had been dormant for thousands of years. Charging through the battlefield, destroying everything in her path, had brought her right back to the days she had loved so much. The days of being a protector of Odin: A Valkyrie. 

Turning from the cliff’s edge, she made her way down to the heart of the town, still thinking of what it meant to be in battle. It brought her an excitement, almost like a giddiness, that she felt nowhere else. It was something that had been instilled in her from a young age, something she had been born to do, and repressing it for so long had left a mark on her that she hadn’t even realized at the time. Having awoken it once more, however, had left her with a newfound sense of energy, something that seemed to be radiating from within. She knew now that she wasn’t ready to give it all up. She still had a lot to fight for and was ready to start a new chapter in her life. One in which she could move on and become the person she was always destined to be. 

Looking up, she realized she had reached the town perimeter as she had been lost in thought. Walking through the cobblestone streets, she came across the town’s centre, a large square of land, half the size of a football field, in which they had built a garden as a town project. It was something to liven up the dull space and remind them of the incredible garden they had on Asgard, coming up with names as a whole before voting on “The Garden of  Amaranthine”. It’s meaning had been derived from the word “amartanos” meaning immortal and the word “anthos” meaning flower. Put together, Amaranthine came to be known as a flower that never withered; a symbol of eternal beauty. This was something the space had warranted, in their opinion, as it was the heart of the town and the place they drew their strength from. Over the five years, the sole remainder of the garden caretakers of Asgard had built the space up, planting flowers of utmost beauty. In impossible shades of gold, silver, and brilliant white (having used magic only the caretakers were born with), she had formed a space filled with the colours of their home and the sweet scent of the flower’s nectar, surrounding it with bushes that had flowers that bloomed in soft tones of pink that outlined the square, leaving a gap on the east side for people to enter. It was a place of beauty and something to symbolize that they were alive, the people of Asgard had survived, and that they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

Approaching the garden’s entrance, Valkyrie noted, to her surprise, that Thor was standing in its empty centre, the gardener never filling the heart of the garden with any type of plant. 

Walking through the entrance and up to the god, she saw that he was on his hands and knees, digging a hole with his bare hands and with a small tree sapling next to him. She decided to stand a few feet back and watch him for a moment, not really knowing how to talk to him after everything they had gone through. When Thor had failed to kill Thanos with Stormbreaker the day he had attacked Earth, he had put it entirely on himself. The moment he had arrived in New Asgard, he had shut himself away in a small house and wasn’t seen for weeks. In his absence things had started to spiral into chaos; no one knew what to do and with no knowledge of Earth, other than what they had learned of it on Asgard, the town was becoming increasingly upset with the lack of information they were receiving. While they may have been saved by Thor, his bravery and ingenuity being something they looked up to in him, what they saw now they could only describe as lack of care. This neglectfulness had created an underlying anger towards him that had begun to turn into a plan to riot in protest, trying to get some word out of their absent King. 

Thor had refused to budge from the safe haven of his house, so Valkyrie had been the one to step up and lead their people who were desperately looking for someone to guide them. Scared and confused, she had done her best to take control and allow them to acclimate to their new life on Earth. It had been a difficult task for her, as it didn’t have the same feel as her days of leading the Valkyrie. Leading their people with no end goal in sight other than “survive” didn’t have any of the thrill or excitement she was used to from her fighting days. Leading her sisters in battle had required a lot of teamwork and motivation from them, giving her strength to step up and take charge of situations. 

But here, there was no reciprocal power to draw from. Everything had to be practically spoon fed to them, her days filled with answering questions of ‘when is Thor going to return?’ and ‘how long are we going to stay on this forsaken planet?’. They weren’t happy with where they had been placed, all of them simply wanting to go back to their lives on Asgard. It infuriated her to no end as there was no Asgard to go back to. They didn’t seem to understand that this place on Earth was their best place to kickstart their lives again and begin a new chapter. Besides, they didn’t have any other choice. Thor had given her the coordinates for this place when she had been scrambling to save their people from Thanos’ sudden attack on their ship. He had told her that it was the only place they could settle, the land being the very same of which Odin had graced with his magic the first time he had touched down on Earth. The charm he had left had made it so the humans wouldn’t interfere. Whenever they needed the land, all they had to do was arrive and announce to it that they needed a home. When she had done this herself, she had watched in awe as the humans had moved out, finding new places to live, leaving the empty town all for them. 

Along with this, the humans treated them like they had always been there, continuing to bring supplies while they continued the fishing industry the town had put in place. It was the best opportunity for them and with a lot of hard work and persuasion, she had finally gotten her fellow Asgardians on board, delegating tasks for the upkeep of the town and jumpstarting their economy so they could thrive. 

It had been okay for her for a while, but with ultimately nowhere to go, nothing to strive for, she was stuck ruling a place that was seemingly going nowhere. Because of this, it had been a long five years of struggling to accept her new role in life, but now that they had defeated Thanos for good, she could feel a new sense of energy in the air and it made her excited for what the future had in store. 

Figuring she had to talk to Thor at some point, she sucked in a calming breath and walked the last few steps over to him. Wetting her lips in preparation to speak, she was about to open her mouth when Thor suddenly spoke first.

“I saw you coming,” was all he said as he continued to dig the hole, not giving her much to go on.

“Oh, uh, right.” In the few moments that followed there was an awkward silence where she thought he was going to speak again, but he didn’t say anything further and continued to scoop handfuls of dirt from his little hole. Realizing he wasn’t going to speak, she decided to break the tension instead. 

“What are you doing there?” she asked, curious to know what the story of the tree was.  _ What was with him and trees lately? First at Stark’s and now here. _

He didn’t answer at first, his only reaction to her question was his pause in his digging as he instead stared at the hole in front of him. After a moment, he sat back and turned to face her with a despondent look in his eyes.

“You must think me weak,” he admitted, throwing her off guard completely. The way he was watching her, so still and calm, was making her uneasy. During the past five years whenever she had approached him he’d brush her off, ignore her completely, or, on his worst days, go as far as yelling incessantly at her to get out, not letting her get a word in. One particularly bad day had been accompanied by a beer bottle being thrown at her head. It definitely had not been a proud moment for him but she had never thought him weak for it, but apparently  _ he _ did. Looking at him now she saw no anger, no despair, just a deep sadness that radiated off him as he spoke words he believed to be true. His sureness at that fact caused her to jerk her head back in disbelief. 

“What?” she asked incredulously. “Why on Earth would you think that?”

He brushed his hands on his stained grey sweatpants, unintentionally spreading more dirt all over them, before standing up to talk to her face to face.

“I failed you. I failed my people. I should have been there for all of you these past five years, but instead I let myself go and let everyone down.”

She hadn’t been expecting for him to talk about the last five years after all he had done to shut them out. It gave her hope that he was starting to heal after all the trauma he had experienced in such a short amount of time. 

“No, Thor, you didn’t let us down. After all you went through we never expected you to just simply bounce back.”

He didn’t seem convinced, his frown deepening on his face. 

“I was a fool. I thought I was invincible. Thought nothing could take down the ‘mighty Thor.’” He laughed bitterly before continuing. “But Thanos was stronger than me that day. I should have seen it coming, it was a stupid mistake. I’m the reason all of this happened; I had the power to end it all. I’m the reason Vision, Natasha, and Steve are dead.”

His voice cracked as he finished his sentence, flooding with emotion. Staring at his face she could see the tears pooling in his eyes, the heartache of going through so much weighing on his shoulders. 

“Thor,” she stated firmly, trying to gather his full attention. “What happened was  _ not  _ your fault and definitely not stupid. There was a whole army of heroes battling Thanos that day and all their strength combined could not beat him. He was too strong and we weren’t prepared. But, it all worked out in the end and that’s all that matters. Sometimes you lose people along the way…” 

She thought back to the sisters Hela had destroyed in front of her, the absolute heartbreak she had experienced as a result. Hela had come with a fury that burned so bright no one could compete. When Valkyrie and her sisters had attacked, she had fought back hard. It was a massacre, a slaughtering of all the ones she loved and she could do nothing but watch as Hela sent out her strikes, slicing through them all in an instant leaving no one but her alive. She had survived, not by luck, but because of the selflessness of her other half. The woman she loved.

Valkyrie realized she was shaking, and clasped her trembling hands together at the memory so vivid in her mind. 

She had had to push through this same pain, override every instinct telling her to run and hide, when they had battled Thanos. Her last battle like that had ended in tragedy, but this time they had won. They had defeated the enemy that had caused so much pain to them all, just as Hela had been rightly destroyed by Surtur as he unleashed Ragnarok. And while the pain of the battle was still there, a mark on her heart that would never fade, the justice of it all brought peace to her that was allowing for her to continue on, making her realize that she didn’t have to give up her life as a warrior: her sisters wouldn’t want that for her. 

Taking a deep breath to ground herself, she continued strongly, the recent lessons she’d learned about battle the subject of her words. “But that’s war, and something we know could happen every time we willingly choose to put our lives on the line for the greater good.” She hoped she could convince him that he wasn’t at fault; If anyone could relate to what Thor was feeling right now, it was her. 

He raised his hands to wipe at his eyes but paused right before following through, remembering the dirt still coating his palms. Changing his plan, he awkwardly wiped them with the back of his hand instead, clearing the tears away before refocusing on her, a sympathetic smile tugging at his features.

“You were the only surviving Valkyrie,” he said softly. “I can’t imagine what you went through losing everyone like that.”

She shuffled anxiously, leaning her weight onto her left leg while dragging her right foot through the dirt in front of her. It was a tough subject for her to get into with it being the very reason she had tried to drink herself to death on Saakar. It was something she wanted to learn to live with, embrace, so that she could live her life while also keeping the ones she lost front and centre in the things she did. Hesitating, she looked at his face and saw the deep understanding and pain he was going through, his plea to her to help guide him through the heartbreak. It was this that finally got her to talk; the need to help others going through what she struggled with for so long overshadowed any last grievances she felt.

“It was hard for a long time. I blamed myself for their deaths and I lost someone very important to me along the way.” Her love, her soulmate, had sacrificed herself in order to keep her alive. A debt she could never repay and something that would live with her forever. “I probably would have continued to live my life in self-pity and despair if you hadn’t come along. You saved me Thor because you’re a good man. A man deserving of happiness in his life.”

He stared at her thoughtfully, taking in her words. “How do you deal with their deaths? I lost my father, then half our people, and then Loki. Losing him is not something I’m inexperienced at, but it never gets easier. Each time it feels like I’ve lost him forever, but this forever somehow feels a little more permanent than the others,” he finished sadly, the death of his brother still causing him great pain. “How... how do you move on without having them in your life?”

“Hope. I believe that one day we’ll be reunited with the ones we’ve lost. That we’ll meet up once again and this isn’t the end, just goodbye for now.” He seemed puzzled at her words, so she continued further. “I lived a lot of my life wallowing in the pain of losing those closest to me. Losing the ones I loved dearly hurt me far deeper than any blade could, but I’ve recently come to understand that in doing so you forget to live your life. They wouldn’t want us to stop living because of them, they would want us to continue to fight, continue to live  _ for  _ them.” 

Pausing to let her words sink in, she decided to tell him things she had kept to herself for so long. 

“Ever since I realized this, I see her in everything I do. The sweet scent of the flowers reminds me of her hair, soft and fragrant. The sun reminds me of her smile, the warmth from it that seemed to radiate onto me, making me happy no matter my current mood. The tinkling of the windchimes in the cool summer breeze reminding me of her laugh, light and airy. I’ve come to understand that I should embrace the things that remind me of her because it fills my life with meaning. It brings me comfort knowing that a part of her still lives in me; There will always be that part of them in you that you have access to, you just have to learn to embrace it. It’s in my dreams where I can still talk to her, wrap her in the embrace I’ve imagined I’d give her if she were to suddenly appear back in my life. She usually approaches me on the nights that I have a lot on my mind and we’ll just talk it out, bringing a calm over me that I haven’t known in years. I know in the dreams that she’s not actually there, that I’ll still be alone when I wake up, but it brings me comfort knowing I can still see her: I can still hear her voice. We never forget the ones that are gone, Thor, we just learn to embrace their presence in different ways.” 

His icy blue and deep amber eyes locked onto hers, many emotions passing through them as he mulled over what she had just expressed. His attention was broken, however, when he looked behind her, his brows furrowed in confusion before melting into a bittersweet smile.

“I think I understand what you mean,” he murmured, still staring at something on the ground behind her. Turning to see what it was, she only saw the rustling of the grass before a small snake came into view. It was black with green stripes running vertically down its sides with one down its back, also curiously sporting a yellow mark on its head, quite similar to a golden helmet. While it didn’t mean anything to her, it seemed to bring peace to Thor, bringing a strength to his body that she hadn’t seen since before he lost his family.

Turning back to face him, he looked a lot happier than when she had first approached him. 

“Thank you for that talk Valkyrie, I wish I had come to you sooner” 

“It was my pleasure Thor. I’m open to talk anytime.” Giving her a soft smile, he turned back towards his hole where he reached down and picked up the sapling to show to her. “Do you know what this is?” 

She tried to look closely, but it looked just like any ordinary tree to her. About a foot and a half tall, its light brown trunk, straight as a pin, and small pear-shaped dark green leaves gave no indication that it was special whatsoever: It looked like any tree would at that age. 

“No clue.”

“This,” he explained, eyes glinting with excitement, “is the  _ Watchtower tree. _ ” 

Her mouth dropped open. The Watchtower tree was a direct descendant of Yggdrasil, the very force that connected the 9 realms. The tree that had been moved to the planet Galador right before its successor had been planted. When Yggdrasil was reaching an old age and the realms were falling into peace after the war, it was decided that Yggdrasil was too powerful to be kept on Asgard. So much power would draw too many people to its source, so Odin had requested it be kept in the hall of science, the most esteemed place for mythical objects to go in order to keep them safe. Here, it is said that the branches representing each of the realms would die in the occurrence of Ragnarok. It was a sad thought, really, as Asgard’s branch had surely died by now after Hela’s reign over their home had caused them to unleash the day Asgardians had feared for thousands of years. Before it had been sent away, however, Odin had ordered the garden’s caretakers to save a piece of its roots in order to grow a new tree in its place to serve as the heart of the Bifrost garden. Deemed “The Watchtower tree” it was the only remaining connection to that past and it was something Valkyrie had assumed destroyed with the rest of their planet. 

“How is that possible? I thought everything was destroyed during Ragnarok!”

“I thought that too,” he began hurriedly, “until Ingrid, the last garden caretaker, came to me today and showed me what she had done. Her and the other caretaker, Astrid, who was murdered by Thanos, managed to save a piece of the Watchtower tree without Hela’s notice as they left to flee with Heimdal. They cared for it until Ingrid, now alone, brought the piece to Earth when you rescued half of our people. Here, she planted the piece and took care of it in secret, allowing it to grow into a sapling big enough to be planted in the ground. She told me that with the war over, it is the right time for it to be planted in our garden.”

She felt her eyes briefly widen at the mention of Thanos’ name, not expecting it to escape his lips after the five years of not even being allowed to mention the Titan’s name in his presence; it made her happy, though, as she realized that Thor was finally starting to heal, bringing some semblance of peace he so desperately deserved back into his life. 

“That’s amazing.” she breathed, awestruck that a piece of their home had been saved. “The tree can be a symbol of peace for earth now that the battle with Thanos is done, just as the original Watchtower tree was a symbol of the peace after the War of the Nine Realms.”

“We share the same feeling.” He agreed wholeheartedly before a mixed expression took over his face. Pausing, he was clearly battling with something on his mind. Valkyrie didn’t think he was going to say anything when he surprised her by finally speaking up, the mixed expression being replaced with glimmers of childish happiness that began to travel across his face.

“This tree holds a deeper meaning for me,” he began in a low voice, sentiment coating his words. “Loki and I, we would play in the garden all the time, it’s where he attacked me by turning into a snake that one time.”

She laughed quietly to herself as she remembered the story Thor had told them back on Sakaar. Mirroring her smile, he continued to recount his childhood fondly. “Warriors and Frost Giants was our favourite though. Of course, I had to be the warrior,” he boasted proudly, a thoughtful look creeping into his eyes. “No matter how hard I tried, Loki always beat me; I was no match for him and his tricks. I remember the moments of mother tending to my injuries from our rough play fondly, telling me that one day things would get better between us; One day I would understand.” He trailed off, staring into the distance until he shook his head to clear the memories, sucking in a sharp breath. 

“I always held on to those thoughts of a brighter future between us. They gave me hope and every time I visited the garden it was like I was back in that moment, mother telling me everything would be alright. I hope that, with this tree, we can bring the same hope to our people of a brighter future here on Earth. We may not be on Asgard anymore, but the tree brings meaning to the piece of Asgard living within us all. Together, we can grow and heal and hopefully bring a sense of peace back to our people, maybe even to Earth along the way.”

Valkyrie smiled kindly at him, the idea making warmth spread within her at the thought of bringing hope back into their lives after years of darkness. She was truly impressed with everything he was willing to share. She was so used to the Thor that shut himself away from everyone to live a life of loneliness. It was a beautiful premise, though. Hope and peace for their people after so much heartbreak: It was what they deserved. 

“I think that’s something both our people desperately need.”

“Glad you agree.” Moving aside so there was more room next to the hole he asked, “Would you like to plant it together?”

Valkyrie’s eyes widened at his invitation. She was so shocked that she almost forgot to answer his question, her mouth hanging open for a few seconds before forcing out, “I- um, sure.” 

She hadn’t expected him to ask for her help, but was humbled by his action. It was a new start for their people and was something she was glad to be able to take part in, to have the opportunity to give them this new beginning. 

With both of them kneeling on the ground, Thor gently placed the sapling in the centre of the hole he had made. With the tree in position, they both started scoping the dirt back in to surround the tree, patting it all down when the hole was filled completely. The heart of the garden, the reason Ingrid had left the empty space, was now in its proper place, ready to grow along with the people in the town.

They both stood up, admiring the new symbol now in place for their people. She saw how proud Thor looked to have planted the tree and couldn’t help but poke a bit of fun at him.

“You know, if you keep going like this you’ll become one of those old ladies that does nothing but drink tea and tend to their flowers all day.”

He turned toward her, a playful scowl on his face.

“I don’t drink tea,” he stated simply, displeased that she would even suggest that he did.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Of course, I should have known. What do you drink then, oh mighty warrior?” she teased, playing into his tough man routine.

He stared at her, a smirk playing on his lips. “Not tea.” 

“Okay then, smart-ass. What are your plans now?” she asked, chuckling, genuinely curious to see what he was going to do after everything that had happened and wanting to move on from the conversation that was getting her nowhere.

“I think I’ll start a nice garden outside my house.” He declared, looking toward the orange-shingled building in the distance. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the statement, the joke she had just made about his future as a gardening grandma not so far-fetched after all.

Turning back to face her he continued with voicing his thoughts out loud, blatantly ignoring her amusement with the situation. “I’ll have to use the Explorer of the Internet to search for some plants to buy.”

She laughed even harder at that, throwing her head back in glee at his naivety to Earth’s technologies despite how much longer he’d been acquainted with the planet compared to them. Even she knew how much Explorer sucked ass. 

“ _ Internet Explorer, _ ” she began, still chuckling while also emphasizing the correct term for the browser, “is horse shit, Thor. Firefox is far superior.”

He looked affronted that she would even suggest that. “What does a “Firefox” have to do with this, and why is the fox on fire? Who would do such a thing?”

She sighed, smiling, running a hand over her face. “Never mind. What are you thinking of buying?” she asked, knowing he wouldn’t understand even if she tried to explain.

It was his turn to grin. “Some lettuce, perhaps.” 

_Lettuce?_ She had been expecting flowers, not food. _Why, out of everything he could buy, would he pick lettuce?_ She didn’t even think she had ever seen him eat the plant before, let alone think about growing it. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she tried to figure out the way his brain worked. This seemed to delight him, however, as the grin on his face grew wider.

“It was recommended by a wise source. I also had a lengthy conversation with Stark’s wife about gardening and she told me it is quite easy to grow as well as healthy. A worthy vegetable for my fledgling garden.” 

Valkyrie just shook her head at his foolishness.  _ Whatever makes him happy.  _

The statement, jokes aside, had caused her to remember something she was meaning to do; The word ‘worthy’ sparking her memory of what she had been thinking about before she had met up with Thor. 

Sticking her right arm out, she called upon Stormbreaker, feeling its connection as she mentally summoned it to her hand. During the battle, Thor had given her the axe to wield, but she hadn’t gotten the chance to give it back yet, as it was currently residing next to the hooks by her front door. She felt its power pulsing in her fingertips as it drew closer, soaring through the air until it finally came to a rest in her outstretched palm and was ready to be used. She saw Thor watching her thoughtfully, as if looking to see what she would do, which was a rather curious thing to do. The axe had never belonged to her and it was always something she had always intended on giving it back. Moving to pass the axe back to its rightful owner, she was met with his hand instead, stopping her from raising her arm to pass it to him.

“Oh I won't be needing that anymore. The axe is yours,” he said, sounding so confident in his decision that the words didn’t initially register. Letting them sink in for a moment she realized what he had just said.

“Mine?!” she exclaimed, believing that he had to be joking with her. “Why would you give it to  _ me _ ? Once we take Mjolnir back you won’t have a weapon.”

He didn’t look concerned with the fact she’d pointed out, instead shifting his weight to regard her thoughtfully before speaking up.

“I think it’s finally time for me to be here for our people, step in as king. I’ve left them unattended for so long, and while you did an amazing job in my place, you deserve to live your life outside of ruling. I no longer have the need to fight anymore. I’ve grown tired of battle. After going against Thanos on three separate occasions, I’ve learned that my true happiness lies elsewhere now. Besides, the galaxy needs a new face to keep it in order and you are the most worthy person for the job. I believe it is your destiny to go and explore what the galaxy has in store and learn who you are truly meant to be. You have served the kingdom of Asgard long enough. Our debts to you will last into eternity, so now it is time for us to let you go and allow you to discover life for yourself.”

His confession had been far from what she had thought he was going to say. Having seen the way he loved battle, the drive to fight against the evils in the universe, she had never struck him as one to retire.  _ Maybe it’s because he feels guilty. Surely he can’t be serious about wanting to retire.  _

“Thor, no, I can’t ask that of you. If you’re doing this because you feel bad about the five years-”

“It’s not,” he cut in, reassuring her that he was serious. “Over these past few weeks leading up to our final fight with Thanos I have been doing a lot of thinking, and this- this is what I want. It’s what you deserve and I am truly ready to serve on the throne. I spent so long avoiding my destiny, but now I’m ready to embrace it wholeheartedly, something I suggest you do as well. Your path is up there,” he said, gesturing to the sky above. 

Looking up, she thought of the many worlds orbiting high above, invisible to the naked eye on Earth. It meant her heart soar at the thought of exploring the cosmos, travelling to places she had yet to see and experiencing new cultures for the first time. It was a highly enticing thought and toying with the premise in her mind she realized that his words were exactly what she needed to hear. She  _ was _ ready for a change and knew it was finally time for her to discover who she truly was. Who  _ Brunnhilde  _ was. She was ready to put her past behind and become the person she was born to be. She thought back to the conversation she’s had with that young, but surprisingly wise, kid Peter about going back to her roots.  _ Maybe it was finally time to announce it to the world.  _

“I appreciate that Thor, I really do,” she finally responded, grateful that he was looking out for her. 

Relieved she had accepted his offer, he stood back and looked around at the people milling about. “I figured if I wanted to be king I should start acting like one,” he mused. 

It was at this moment that she saw the authority in his eyes, the deep need to take care of his people which had always been there, and she knew that he had made the right choice: He would be a great king. 

Figuring that this was as good a time as any to reveal her inner thoughts, she decided to finally speak freely.

“Thor, I was wondering if you would call me Brunnhilde. It is my birth name after all and I think it’s time I go back to it.” It was a final act to sever herself from the drunken life of sorrow she had known on Sakkar. A way for her to wipe the slate clean and move on to a better chapter in her life. 

Turning to face her again, he seemed pleased with her decision. “Brunnhilde it is,” he agreed, emphasizing her new name. 

Having people call her that again caused excitement to flow through her body. She was finally beginning to feel like the person she was two thousand years ago. Looking at Thor, however, made her wish that she had been able to get through to him sooner, save him from the pain she herself had gone through.

“I wish we would have had this conversation five years earlier,” she confided, feeling guilty for not doing enough to help him in his time of need. “Maybe if I had tried to engage with you more I could have saved you from slipping down the same path to alcohol as I had. Maybe we could have come to peace sooner.” 

He put a strong hand on her shoulder, making sure to look straight into her eyes. “This wasn’t your fault. This is a conclusion I had to come to on my own, something nobody could help me with,” he affirmed, not wanting her to feel like it was her fault. 

She knew there was nothing she could have done, but hearing the words from his mouth put her mind at ease. Grateful for his words, she gave him a small smile in return, glad that they had finally worked everything out. Having enough of the sentimental moments for one day though, she decided to change the subject to something lighter.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to see what you were doing with that stupid tree,” she joked, “Can I get back to my day now or do you have another Asgardian treasure hidden in your pocket?”

“Well…” he dragged out, an apologetic look on his face.

“What is it now?” she sighed, exasperated at what else he could have up his sleeve.

“I was wondering if you could do this small, rather tiny, not a big deal, favour for me?” he asked in a tiny voice, scared at what she was going to say.

“I’m listening.”

“Well, I was wondering if maybe you’d be able to return the stones to their proper timeline?”

Again she found herself asking him the same question. “Why me? I’m sure there’s far more worthy people. I can’t even lift Mjolnir, so how am I supposed to return your hammer back to Asgard?” 

He answered immediately, sounding sure that it should be her. “After everything I’ve been through I don’t think I’m ready to head back to those places in time just yet and you’re the next in line and the person I trust the most, so you were my obvious choice,” he explained logically.

She shot him a heartfelt look. “I’m flattered, truly I am, but that doesn’t answer my question about Mjolnir. I’m simply not worthy”

He didn’t answer, instead choosing to reach his arm out like she had to summon Stormbreaker earlier. Waiting a moment, Mjolnir flew into view, reaching his hand in the same fashion as the axe Brunnhilde was holding. Continuing his silence, he held out the hammer for her to take. Brunnhilde had no idea what he wanted her to do with it; She couldn’t even lift it! Staring at him instead, he realized she wasn’t going to budge. 

“Take it,” he urged, continuing to hold Mjolnir for her to grab. Rolling her eyes at what she knew was going to be a waste of time, she placed Stormbreaker on the ground and reached out to take Mjolnir from his hand, fully expecting the hammer to instantly drop.  _ If it falls on my foot I’m going to kill you Thor. _

She was so sure that she wasn’t worthy that it didn’t even register when she grabbed it and it didn’t fall, sitting in her hand like any other weapon she wielded.

“See, I told you…” she trailed off as she understood that she had been wrong.  _ The hammer didn’t fall.  _

She was  _ worthy.  _

Before she could do or say anything else, Thor motioned for her to raise it above her head. Numbly, she did what he requested and was immediately met with the sound of thunder rumbling overhead where she was suddenly encapsulated in lightning, her entire body surrounded in the electricity before it disappeared as fast as it came, leaving behind a faint smell she, weirdly enough, surmised was coconut. Confused at what had just happened, she looked down and realized she was no longer in her vest and jeans, but fully decked out in an outfit similar to that of Thor’s when he entered battle. Fitted in a black skin tight suit, which was fashioned with plates of armour and the classic six circular accents in two vertical rows of three on her front, she realized it was a different take on Thor’s classic outfit, one that suited her body instead. Feeling weight on her back, she turned her head and noticed that she also had a cape, bold like Thor’s, but instead of his usual red, it was replaced with a brilliant cobalt blue, much like the cape accompanying her outfit she had worn during her time as a Valkyrie. It was a nice addition as it showed that while she was going to be taking the role of Thor, she was going to do it in her way. 

“It looks good on you,” commented Thor, taking the full look in. “My cape looks better though.”

“Yeah, you wish your cape was as cool as this,” she shot back instantly, but realized that it felt wrong. Investigating further made her realize the cape was attached to both shoulders instead of her usual one. Reaching back with her right arm, she ripped the right attachment off so that the cape all hung to the left. In doing so she also discovered that her hair had been braided in the same way as Thor’s during battle.  _ Definitely not keeping those.  _

Happy with the modifications she had made for now, she dropped her hands to her sides and relaxed. “There, now I don’t look as much like you.”

Thor nodded in agreement. “I will admit it suits you more.” 

Admiring her new look for a moment more, he finally looked away and picked up Stormbreaker from the ground before gesturing in front of him. “Care to take a walk?”

“Sure,” she replied, it had been what she was doing before she came across him in the garden.

Walking side by side they slowly made their way up the cliffside she had just come from. The view from the top unlike none other in New Asgard so it had become the hotspot of the town during the five years: A place to get away from it all. It was during this familiar walk, however, that a thought crossed her mind.

“Thor?” she asked as they made their way up the worn path to the top of the cliff. “Why didn’t Steve get the fancy costume change when he first held Mjolnir on the battlefield?” 

Making it to the top, they made their way to the spot that Brunnhidle had been only an hour before. Taking in the salty sea breeze, he faced her to answer her question.

“Well, that’s quite simple.” he supplied, his love for Mjolnir and its powers coming through the look on his face. “Though he may have been worthy, Mjolnir only shows her true power to those of whom she belongs. The hammer never belonged to him, but with you, she can sense a change in allegiance, a kind of passing of hands, so she presented her full power to you.” 

He spoke of the hammer like it had feelings, felt emotions, and it reminded her how much he had taken his role as “Thor” to heart. If one thing was sure, it was that she was going to try her best to bring the same energy to the title as he had the past 1000 years. She took a deep breath in and blew it out slowly, still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. 

“Sure, that makes sense.”

His eyes twinkled in response, reflecting the honour she knew he felt towards her holding the position before he turned back toward the ocean. “Although I will say that the cape would look a little ridiculous on him. It suits you perfectly though,” he added absentmindedly, speaking more out loud than directly to her.

She raised an eyebrow, not able to help but joke with him at the comment he had just made. “Are you flirting with me?” 

His head snapped back back to look at her, eyes now flashing in panic instead of the heartfelt emotion they held seconds ago. “No! Of course not! Why would you think such a thing? I would never-” she cut him off by punching him playfully in the arm.

“Relax Lord of Thunder, I’m only joking. Besides, I have enough on my mind already.”

“Like what?” he asked, relief coating his voice.

“Closure,” was all she replied, not ready to divulge into that headspace yet.

“Closure?” He blinked, knitting his brows together as he regarded her with curiosity. “Closure for what?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	20. The Ribbon of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! It's definitely crazy to be saying that. This fic has been a work in progress for a while, so it's nice to finally have it all out there. I just want to say thank you to everyone for reading and leaving likes and comments; I read every one and appreciate them all very much! 
> 
> Now on to the last chapter!

Back at Tony Stark’s house for the second time in a week, Brunnhilde gathered around the new time travel machine Tony and Bruce had built. 

It was a large circular platform, standing two feet off the ground. Surrounding its base were solar panels and thick wires, both black and red that snaked through the grass into a generator Tony had supplied nearby, from where it was supplied power. Surrounding the base were three giant silver sort of spikes, put in triangle formation, facing inward toward where Brunnhilde would stand when they were ready to send her back in time. Each spike, flatter on the surface closer to the user and slightly curving inward, held what looked like copper wiring inside, lining the mechanical arm’s surface and creating the illusion that they were glowing from the inside even when off. From what she could tell, these mechanical arms would act like the tunnel in Scott’s ugly brown van, generating enough energy to send her quantum in order to travel back and deliver the stones. 

Thor, Tony, Peter and herself were all standing next to each other, eagerly waiting for Bruce to give her the all clear to start her journey to bring back the stones. While everyone else was dressed casually, Tony and Peter both donning dark blue jeans and fall jackets, Tony’s a deep Navy while Peter’s was a light brown, and Thor in his normal grey sweatpants and cardigan, she had been fitted in the white quantum suit Tony had taken the time to custom make for her when he had found out she would be going back so she could withstand the force of quantum time travel. 

“Alright Brunnhilde, you can go ahead and stand on the device while I finish getting it ready. Just a few more priming sequences to go and then you’re good to take those stones back home,” came Bruce’s voice from behind his station covered in buttons that only he knew how to work. Walking to the platform, she grabbed Mjolnir off the ground, along with the briefcase that held the stones, and climbed onto the machine, awaiting further instruction.

“Oh, before I forget,” Tony suddenly piped up as he moved toward her, reaching for something in his back pocket. Standing within arm’s reach, he handed over a vial of pym particles that she had made Thor request when he informed Tony she would take the stones back.

“Um, not to pry- actually, I fully plan on prying here; why do you need these extra particles anyway?” he asked curiously, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. 

“That’s for me to know and for you not to find out,” was her response, purposefully vague; She wasn’t letting anyone into her plans for they were her business and hers alone.

Rolling his eyes, he joined Thor and Peter back off to the side. “Are Asgardians capable of speaking normally or does everything have to be so damn dramatic with you people?” he inquired to no one in particular, making his annoyance at her lack of response palpable. 

“Maybe if you were on our level your small human brain would actually be able to understand, Stark,” Thor bit back, a playful smile on his face. Tony tilted his head and squinted his eyes at the god, obviously not willing to back down from the comment. As they began to bicker, Brunnhilde looked over at Peter and laughed at his obvious “oh shit” face as they squabbled.

“See those two over there; bullheaded as anything. Don’t you grow up to be like them Peter,” she joked at the teenager, who looked surprised that she had addressed him but then drew himself up to his full height and gave her a respectful smile. 

“Don’t worry, miss Brunnhilde, I’m not gonna let that happen,” he affirmed, but his eyes widened when Tony turned on him with an accusing look.

“What’s that supposed to mean kid?” he asked incredulously, “Just this morning you were going on and on about how great it was to live here and how much you were going to miss us when you finally moved into your new apartment. Now you’re trying to say I’m a bad influence? I’m wounded, I really am.” The look on his face made it seem like he was truly angry at the kid but the tone he was using told her that he was only teasing, obviously liking to poke fun at the innocence that seemed to radiate from Peter’s being itself. 

“No! I didn’t mean it like that! It was just a joke, I didn’t-” the rest of his scramble to diffuse the situation was drowned out by Bruce cutting in, ignoring what was going on off to the side.

“Alright, we’re all ready here. You good to go over there?” he asked loudly to cover Peter’s frantic voice, making sure she was in position. 

“Ready,” she said as she deployed the helmet. 

“Wait! Sorry,” interjected Tony, too caught up with Peter to realize he had something else to tell her.

“I’m having my guy Happy bring down an old quinjet I had stored at my facility in Malibu for you once you get back. It’s the least I can do in return for you returning the stones.”

“Thank you, Stark.” Turning to look at Peter, she winked. “Maybe there is some good in him after all.” 

Laughing again at his flustered expression she knew he was clearly torn between laughing and facing Tony’s wrath as Tony instantly shot him a glare at the jab against him.

“Everyone ready now?” called Bruce, eager to return the stones before anything went wrong.

There was a collective murmur of confirmation. 

“Okay. Going Quantum in five…” She tuned out the countdown to glance at Thor one last time.

“Stay safe,” he mouthed, looking genuinely concerned for her.

Nodding confidently, she vaguely registered Bruce’s “one” before she felt her body spinning wildly, everything seeming to be compressed inside her before she landed, feet first, on the hard ground of Earth 2012. 

\--

With a quick flash of orange, Brunnhilde had disappeared. Thor wouldn’t dare admit it out loud, but he was worried for her. He knew the journey that they had all gone through to get the stones in the first place, so sending her back alone was causing anxiety to rise up in him. Hearing Bruce count down to her return, the thought of “is she even going to come back?” crossed his mind. So many things could go wrong here and there was always the chance that she’d choose to remain in the past, the responsibilities Thor had thrown at her the previous day with their talk in the garden still fresh in both of their minds. He was relieved when Bruce counted back down to “one”, signalling her return, and the orange glow returned, Brunnhilde returning with a silk ribbon in her hand and a sad, but resolute smile on her face. 

\--

Walking through the garden with purpose, Brunnhilde made her way towards the young sapling her and Thor had planted the other day. As she got close, she slowed and knelt down next to the tree. Regarding it closely, she glanced at the sign Ingrid had put down next to it to tell their fellow Asgardians exactly what the tree was. In big letters was “The Watchtower Tree” and a small description had been printed underneath. It read “Let this tree mark peace to the kingdom of New Asgard and the planet Earth, endowed with the hope of Thanos’ conquering. October 18th, 2023” It was a message to symbolize all that the tree meant to them and Brunnhilde was happy it had been put in place. Glancing down at her right hand, she remembered why she was there. The royal silk between her fingers was delicate and soft, a colour of purple that could only be harnessed through the power of Asgard. Running her fingers over the ribbon one last time, she brought the silk up to her mouth where she gave it a kiss, basking in the memories that filled her mind, before tying it around the skinny stem of the Watchtower tree. 

Creating a nice bow, she made sure it was perfect before stepping back to admire her work. The ribbon was weaved using silk only available on Asgard and with it came the ability to never break, allowing it to grow with the tree instead of being destroyed as it grew. This garden was a symbol of hope for her people, a place where their connections to Asgard could still be felt. In her mind it was the only place she could think of that deserved the ribbon; It was a reminder that her home would always be with her people, something that would always draw her back to the place no matter how far she travelled on her adventure of self discovery. Sparing one last glance at the tree, she turned and walked back out of the garden to join Thor, who was waiting to see her off, on top of the cliff to start her journey into space. As she walked, she thought back to the reason she had gotten the ribbon and smiled like she never had before.

_Glancing at the open case next to her, Brunnhilde saw that she only had one stone left to deliver: The reality stone. Closing the case, she stood up and took one last glance at her surroundings, the ominous purple-red glow of Vormir something she was ready to move on from. Clicking the buttons of her suit next to her thumbs, she was sent spinning madly before she landed on terrain she never thought she'd see again: Asgard. Having popped back into the palace, she quietly crept through the corridors until she came upon Jane’s sleeping form in one of the spare rooms. She had jumped right to the moment when the stone was taken where she found that Jane was still sound asleep, not yet aware that the Aether had been removed from her. While they had no way to return the Aether to its naturally liquid state, they had instead decided to simply place the stone next to her head in its stone form where they knew it would soon be discovered. Opening the case, she quietly removed the stone and placed it in position. Along with the stone though, was Mjolnir, another slightly problematic item as Thor had summoned it from wherever this reality Thor had been keeping it. So, once again, they simply decided to keep it next to Jane, knowing that it would already be suspicious enough that the hammer had been misplaced and the Aether had magically been removed from her body. Like Stark had said to her before she left, as long as their realities didn’t come crashing down on one another they didn’t really care how the stones got back._

_Moving from the room quickly once the items had been delivered, Brunnhilde crept through the halls, making sure to steer clear of anyone coming, until she finally made it outside. Instead of going straight home, however, she had a different plan in mind, one that had started to form as soon as Thor had asked her to be the ones to bring the stones back to their correct timelines. Setting her time travel device to the correct date, she used the extra pym particles that Tony had given her earlier and pressed the buttons, sending her to her last destination in the past before she was to head back to reality for good._

_Opening her eyes, Brunnhilde literally gasped as she stared at the world in front of her. There, in all its glory, was Asgard from two thousand years ago. She had brought herself back to the year of the Massacre of the Valkyrie, just months before everything would go wrong. Seeing the golden palace in front of her she had to stop herself from marching right through the gold plated doors and cutting Hela’s head off right that moment, but she restrained as she knew that it wouldn’t do any good: That wasn’t how time travel worked. She had to remind herself that she had come back for a specific reason, pushing her body to make its way away from the palace in the direction she needed to go. Making her way through the Bifrost garden, she continued to walk through the paths of town until she came upon a clearing._

_With the homes of the Asgardians behind her, she continued to walk through the soft grass, much softer and startlingly more green than any ever found on earth, until she came upon a set of stables: This was where the Valkyrie had kept their Pegasuses when they weren’t in training or battle. The stables were in a huge building, housing hundreds of the magical creatures. The clearing she had just walked through next to it reflected this, two times the size of New Asgard on earth, the plush grass and small rolling hills provided an excellent space for their steeds to graze and wander around freely during resting periods between training and battle. Coming up on the entrance to the stable, crafted from the finest wood in Asgard, a deep mahogany in colour decorated with the gold accents Odin had put everywhere in the kingdom, she knew that it would be empty of people aside from the one she was looking for. She remembered this day specifically, as she had been leading a training drill with the rest of the Valkyrie when she had remembered that one of them had never shown up, causing her a lot of worry before she found out she was all right, the excuse of “I lost track of time” being the only information she would give up._

_Pausing, Brunnhilde took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before finally walking into the stable. Instantly she was hit with the familiar smells of hay, mane shampoo, and the leather polish they used for their saddles; It smelt like home._

_Taking it all in, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden appearance of a voice._

_“Stop your training to come all this way to check up one me? I’m flattered, Brunnhilde.”_

_The voice, so soft and delicate, tinkling like the soft ringing of bells, made her heart melt like it hadn’t done in thousands of years. She never thought she’d hear it in person again, resorting to only having the luxury when she would appear in her dreams. Turning to face the speaker, she saw the one person she had come back for, the one person she never thought she could live without; Sigrid. The one that had sacrificed herself so Brunnhilde could live; Her soul mate through and through. And now here she was in front of her again, as if nothing had happened, like those two thousand years alone had never existed. She looked as beautiful as ever too. Dressed in her white Valkyrie uniform, her purple cape hung on one shoulder, and her hair, brighter than any gold found on any planet, was delicately braided and pinned on her head so it wouldn’t get in the way during training. Brunnhilde could practically feel her heart skipping beats as she stared at her, tracing every inch of her gorgeous face with her eyes. The small curve of her nose, the soft pink glow of her cheeks, and the softness of her lips, ones she had kissed so often, were bringing emotions back to her that she had tried to suppress for most of her life._

_“Are you okay?” came Sigrid's concerned question as Brunnhilde didn’t respond. “You look pale. You’re not sick are you?” She was staring intently at her trying to figure out what was wrong._

_“N-no, I’m okay,” she managed, her voice seemingly stolen by the emotion of seeing her love in front of her once again._

_Tilting her head to the left, Sigrid didn’t seem to buy it. She scanned her eyes over her face and down her body, her brows suddenly furrowing in confusion. “And what are you wearing? I’ve never seen that type of armour anywhere before,” she asked, suspicion creeping into her tone as she realized more and more things were wrong. “I thought you were in practice, what's going on Brunnhilde?” She seemed to be getting wary of the situation, knowing deep down that something wasn’t right._

_Finding her voice, she knew she needed to respond before Sigrid started to panic. “Please, this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to hear me out,” she started, afraid of Singrid’s reaction when she found out she wasn’t from this reality._

_Stepping closer, Sigrid put her right hand on Brunnhilde’s left cheek, sending sparks of electricity down the left side of her body. “I’ll always listen to you, my love” she said softly, concerned for her girlfriend’s well being._

_My love. It was the nickname Singrid had given her only a short while after they had started dating. Those two words could cause her heart to melt on any day, but hearing them now, after so much heartbreak for their lost love, was like hearing for the first time after living in a mute world. It sent tingles down her spine and made her heart beat impossible faster. Taking a few deep breaths to calm her rising emotions, Brunnhilde dove into the story of everything that had happened. Where she was from, Ragnarok, Thanos, all three snaps, finishing the story with her adventure to return the aether and Mjolnir back to 2013 Asgard. Sigrid had taken up pacing, listening intently to what she had to say. Brunnhilde had purposefully left out the part of why she had come back to visit her, not being able to tell her about the attack Hela was going to send on them, destroying them all. It hurt her very much to not be able to say anything, but what was going to happen was set in history. Messing with anything would cause catastrophic events to befall the realities. Glancing up once she finished, she found that Sigrid was staring at her intently, an unreadable expression on her face._ **_“Great, she probably thinks I’m insane”_ ** _she thought bitterly._ **_“I’m going to be locked up on Asgard and not be able to get back to Thor.”_ **

_Instead of saying anything, Sigrid started to walk toward her quickly. Scared that she was going to attack, Brunnhilde began to raise her arms to defend herself when Sigrid’s lips came crashing onto hers, bringing a passion that Brunnhilde had never experienced in a kiss before. She realized that her arms were still hovering in mid air, so she moved them, bringing them up to cup Sigrid’s face, leaning heavily into the kiss. After a minute they broke apart, lips red, and goofy smiles on both of their faces._

_“Does that mean you believe me?” Brunnhilde asked breathlessly, in shock from what had just happened._

_“Of course I believe you. Not even Frode, Asgar’s greatest storyteller, could come up with a tale like that. Plus, that outfit you’re wearing is nothing like the Brunnhilde I know.”_

_She laughed in relief. “I was so worried you wouldn’t understand, it sounds crazy,_ **_I_ ** _sound crazy!”_

_“It's Asgard, we deal in crazy.” She stated matter of factly, brushing the weirdness of the situation away._

_Seeing her happy face, so alive, made Brunnhilde question her decision to not say anything about Hela. It wasn’t fair, she couldn’t let her sisters be taken out like that when she had the power to stop it! Letting her face drop from the broad smile from the kiss, she decided to speak up._

_“Sigrid, listen, I have to tell you something. Hela-” A finger on her lips stopped her mid sentence. She stared into the startling green eyes in front of her, calm and understanding._

_“I figured something must have happened for you to come back to me. It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s meant to happen” she reassured her._

_“But, the Valkyrie-!” Cupping her hands around Brunnhilde's face she gave her another quick kiss to make her stop talking. Pulling back, Sigrid’s eyes held hers with a soft intensity._

_“I know you must feel responsible for whatever happened, but I know you’re not. You are the best leader we have ever had, so whatever happened, whatever will happen, is not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself. We all know what we signed up for when we swore the oath to become Valkyrie.” She explained the thing Brunnhilde had always known deep down with so much ease, so much confidence, that something finally started to ease up inside her._

_“I miss you,” she breathed out, placing her head on Sigrid’s shoulder._

_She felt arms wrap around her, pulling her into a comforting hug. “Why don’t we take a ride on Warsong like we do all the time? Head up to our secret spot for a bit?” she suggested as she pulled out of the hug._

_Warsong. It was Sigrid’s Pegasus, the one they spent many hours riding together on. It was the name she had chosen for her ship on Sakaar, a small tribute to the life she had known before._

_Wiping a few stray tears that had fallen onto her face, she nodded her head. “I’d like that”_

_\--_

_Soaring through the air, Sigrid in front of her and Warsong below, Brunnhilde hadn’t felt this alive in so long. Taking in the sights of Asgard shining far below, she was brought back to the hundreds of times she and Sigrid had done this to get away from everything. Circling high above, you could see everything. The golden castle glistening in the sun, the town and the tiny dots of the homes, the shimmering Bifrost bridge in the distance, its rainbow hues shining bright against the black backdrop of space, and finally the towering Asgardian mountains in front of them, steel grey and topped with white fluffy snow at their highest peaks. Taking in its beauty, one that could outshine any view on Earth with its simplistic elegance, they continued to glide through the clouds until they came across the secluded grove that was hidden high up in hills, at the base of the mountains and right next to a small waterfall. It was the place they went to relax; their own secluded hideaway that only they knew about. Coming to a gentle stop with a soft thud as Warsong’s hooves touched down on the ground, they dismounted from him and removed his saddle, letting him roam freely around the secluded woods. They walked towards the pond that was below the bubbling waterfall, creating an ambient splashing noise in the background that eased Brunnhilde’s mind. This was familiar. This was the place that her heart would truly lie forever._

_Grabbing onto Sigrid’s hand, they walked side by side under the tall trees until they finally reached the pond. Taking off their shoes, they sat next to each other and placed their feet into the cool water, a ritual they had done every time they came to what they deemed “their spot”. Resting her head on Singrid’s shoulder once again, she felt her do the same, resting her own head on top of Brunnhilde’s. After a few moments of enjoying each other’s company, Brunnhilde spoke up, breaking the peaceful silence._

_“Maybe we should just stay here forever. Run away and hide from our responsibilities.” She knew it wasn’t plausible, but the thought kept bouncing around in her mind._

_“Unfortunately, my love, we both know we can’t do that. Besides, what would become of the version of you here? If I were to just disappear, would you let me go?”_

_That was the other problem. Brunnhilde knew that if something were to happen to Sigrid that she didn’t know about, she'd go to Valhalla and back searching for her._

_“Why do you always have to do that?”_

_Sigrid tilted her head to peer down at her, the warmth of her cheek sending goosebumps down her scalp. She narrowed her eyes, “Do what?”_

_Shoulders trembling in a barely concealed laugh, Brunnhilde scowled teasingly. “Be right.”_

_“Because, proving you wrong is too much fun,” she teased back, smiles pulling at both their faces as they settled back into each other's embrace. They sat in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company for a minute more until Sigrid spoke up._

_“Here, I want you to have this. A gift to remember both me and Warsong as you journey back to your time.” She reached into a pocket on her front, digging around for something. Finding it, she pulled it out and presented it to Brunnhilde with a soft smile. Glancing down at the offered gift in her outstretched hand, she saw a beautiful purple ribbon, one that matched her cape. It was one of the ribbons she used to braid Warsong’s mane on special occasions. A symbol of their fidelity to Odin as the ribbons were given to every single one of them, each a different colour to match their cape, to symbolize the bond that was tied between the warrior and the royal family. It was a great honour to get your cape and ribbons. It meant that you have finally taken your oath and sworn to protect the Asgardian throne._

_“Thank you Sigrid,” she whispered, overwhelmed with the love she felt for the woman next to her, as she brought the ribbon up close to her chest, cherishing the item._

_Giving Brunnhilde her smile like the sun in return, Sigrid nestled her head on Brunnhilde’s shoulder before replying. “You’re welcome, my love.”_

_Placing her head on top of Sigrid’s, Brunnhilde held the ribbon tightly in her right hand as they both gazed out over the pond. It finally felt like things would be alright. While she would never be over the death of her love and the death of her sisters, she had finally received closure that she had been waiting on for two thousand years, closure that she definitely needed in her life; a finality to the pain she had gone through. Being able to say one last good-bye was bringing peace to her life that she didn’t know was possible. Just seeing Singrid again had helped begin to seal up the hole in her heart, filling it with the love they felt instead. The act of kissing her love’s face, holding her in her arms one last time, was supplying Brunnhilde with a new strength and drive to live; a way to reconcile with the conflicting emotions of her past and help start her on the journey to find who she really was._

_Sitting next to her now even, she was reminded that this wasn’t the end. One day she would meet Singrid again for good; greet her at Valhalla’s doors where they could step into the afterlife together, finally becoming whole once more. It surprised her to admit, but she realized that, for once, she actually hoped that it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. With new hope in her life, brought by Singrids comfort that her life shouldn’t be wasted, she was finally ready to_ **_live_ ** _. Tears began to run down her face at the thought: She no longer felt she had to die to make amends, instead coming to the conclusion that her sisters would want her to live her life not only for herself but also for_ **_them_ ** _. She should experience the universe and enjoy the simple things in life, allowing herself to bring happiness into the equation again. Content filling her heart, she leaned more heavily into Singrids side, drawing in the heat from her body. Thinking about what lay ahead, she was filled with excitement instead of her normal dread. She may not know what the future held in store for her, but one thing she did know for sure was this:_

_Whatever it was, she was finally ready._

* * *

FOUR MONTHS LATER

“What are you going to get her?”

Peter raised the pencil in hand, glancing at the list he had sitting on the kitchen table as rich shadows were cast across the lead-smeared paper. In truth, he was getting nowhere. While he had been at it for almost an hour, all he had were a bunch of crossed off items and the random, god awful doodles he had drawn while trying to come up with ideas. Nothing was the right thing; anything he came up with wasn’t what he was looking for. And while he wasn’t quite sure what that thing actually was, he had a feeling he’d know it when he saw it.

“I have no idea!” Peter groaned, rubbing his hands through his hair in frustration. 

“I’ve been sitting here forever, but I just can’t come up with the right thing! Who knew choosing a birthday gift for a five year old girl could be so difficult.”

May smirked and walked over where she reached over to ruffle the hair he had just plastered down with his sweaty palms, making it look like there was a porcupine sitting on his head. 

“Look at you. All grown up being a good big brother to Morgan. I’m so proud of you honey.”

“May!” He could feel his cheeks lighting up making his face feel like it was on fire. 

“What? It’s true. Plus, she _adores_ you and it’s just too cute!”

Peter sent her a glare as he fixed his hair, but internally his heart was soaring. He loved Morgan with all his heart and the fact that she looked up to him as much as she did made him all the more happy. That’s why this was so important, why he _had_ to get the best present there ever was. He was going to make this the absolute best birthday, one she would never forget. That was, when he could finally get his head on straight.

_Man, this is going to be a long night._

Spider-Man will return in his own sequel to _Whatever It Takes_ :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! I just wanted to give a bit more detail on the sequel because yes, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!! It's going to be based on Far From Home, but, unlike this story, it's going to be all cohesive. It will only be from Peter's perspective and won't really follow the events of the movie. It will have some slight elements to guide the story, but it will also have a a lot of new things (Tony being alive as one of the big changes). That story will be posted in a little bit. There are some other stories that will come out first, but the FFH story will be posted as its written so hopefully it won't be too long a wait. Thank you again for reading! <3


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